Vaughan to step down as CEO of National Association of Insurance Commissioners

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Therese M. Vaughan will step down as CEO of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners during the first quarter of 2013, the NAIC announced Monday.

The NAIC said in a statement announcing Ms. Vaughan’s pending departure that she cited family obligations and the desire to revise a textbook as reasons for leaving the post.

“It is with mixed emotions that I announce my departure from an organization that has been part of my life for the better part of the past two decades,” said Ms. Vaughan, who was formerly the longest-serving insurance commissioner in Iowa history and past NAIC president, in the statement. “I am especially proud of the work we’ve accomplished in the areas of U.S. solvency modernization and global insurance regulation. I believe the U.S. system of state-based insurance regulation remains the strongest in the world—and the ongoing work by regulators is improving the framework every day.”

“Terri led the NAIC through a tumultuous period following the global economic crisis of 2008,” said NAIC President and Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin M. McCarty in the statement. “Terri’s leadership was instrumental in guiding the development of the NAIC’s Solvency Modernization Initiative. Her expertise has been key to the critical self-examination of the U.S. system of state-based insurance regulation in light of financial reform and modernization efforts taking shape around the world. We have been fortunate to have had Terri during this critical time and wish her well in her future endeavors. She will be greatly missed.”

Ms. Vaughan was hired as CEO in February 2009. Her effective resignation date has not yet been determined. NAIC officers will conduct a national search this year to find Ms. Vaughan’s replacement, said the NAIC in the statement.