With no clear winner between finalistsĀ Jeffrey Bragg and Bill Hager, Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet on Tuesday decided to keep takingĀ applications for state Insurance Commissioner.
Scott, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam agreed to extend the deadline to April 15; the next Cabinet meeting is April 26.
Scott and Atwater, however, first must agree on one candidate under state law. The Office of Insurance Regulation is in the Department of Financial Services, which Atwater heads as CFO.
The four did agree on another hire, unanimously picking current Department of Business and Professional Regulation deputy secretaryĀ Leon BiegalskiĀ to become the new executive director of the Department of Revenue.Ā
Biegalski, a lawyer, now will replace current DOR head Marshall Stranburg, whoĀ accepted a position as deputy executive director of the Multistate Tax Commission, an intergovernmental agency that works on uniformity in taxes among states. Stranburg’sĀ last day is April 1.
For the state’s top insurance regulation job, however, it was evident neither candidate had aĀ winning number of votes on the panel.
Bragg, the governor’s favorite,Ā had one significantĀ stumble when Bondi asked him an Affordable Care Act question about navigators, orĀ application counselors, who are supposed to help people get health insurance. Bragg had to admit he didn’t know what Bondi was talking about.Ā
The now-retired Bragg has served in senior positions with theĀ Federal Emergency Management Agency and mega-insurer Zurich. He also was director of the Federal Terrorism Risk Insurance Program.
BraggĀ was asked to explain news reports about old allegations that he misled investors in a flood insurance business venture which he was involved.
The Palm Beach Post reported Monday that Bragg allegedly signed misleading documents that cost tens of millions of dollars to investors. The case was settled in 2003.
āItās not good but itās part of what we face as businessmen and leaders,ā Bragg told the panel. He explainedĀ that a subsidiary in the business, which issued stock in an initial public offering (IPO) didn’t make the revenue it was expected to, and the stock price later fell.
āAny IPO, if their shares drop, get sued,” he said. “I lost money. I wasnāt happy about it. But thatās business.ā
Hager, a current Florida state representative who was Iowa’s insurance commissioner, also runs a small business as anĀ expert witness and insurance arbitrator. TheĀ Delray Beach Republican isĀ vice chair of the HouseĀ Insurance andĀ Banking Subcommittee.
āI believe I would be ready from day one,” he said. “I have experience leading ā¦ Iām unafraid to lead and to take the heat.ā
Hager sold himself as a “team player,” someone who’s “reasonable and responsible” and bringing “vigor and decisiveness” to the job. HeĀ stressed the importance of bringing in fresh blood to Florida’s insurance market, but not at the cost of giving away the store in lax regulation.Ā
“We need to be ever vigilant, but also put the sign out that says āFlorida is open for business,'” Hager said. “Iāll do everything I can do to make sure the market knows we want them here.”
At the same time, he added, “this is not a position to stand by and watch the world go by.”
Chip Merlin, the namesake of Tampa’s Merlin Law Group, didn’t like either choice. The firm, which also includes former state Insurance Consumer AdvocateĀ Sean Shaw, has built a business out ofĀ representing people “when insurance companies deny, delay or underpay property insurance claims.”
“Policyholders should breathe a short sigh of relief today, and then demand the new search include candidates willing to put consumers āĀ notĀ the insurance industry āĀ first,” MerlinĀ said in a statement.
Biegalski beat out three other contenders: DOR chief economist Robert McKee, retired DOR officialĀ James Evers andĀ formerĀ Duval County Property AppraiserĀ James Overton. He ran unsuccessfully for Jacksonville mayor last year.Ā
