Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Resigns

With two-thirds of the states selecting governors today, the insurance industry can expect a good deal of turnover in the ranks of state insurance commissioners in the coming days.

Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Thomas Sullivan did not wait for the election results and tendered his resignation, effective Nov. 12.

In a letter to Governor M. Jodi Rell, Sullivan defended his term as commissioner. Sullivan had become the object of criticism in recent months due to proposed premium hikes by the state’s largest health insurer, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield. “I am grateful to have served the citizens of our state, and I fully believe the Connecticut Insurance Department is better equipped to respond to our constituents today then when your current term began,” the letter states. “I thank you for your support.”

Sullivan said he was leaving office to take a position at New York-based PriceWaterhouseCoopers. “Please know that as I transition into my post public service life that I have carefully reviewed my post-employment obligations to the State of Connecticut and will faithfully adhere to those obligations,” he wrote.