During an Atlanta press conference where Dr. Theresa M. (Terri) Vaughan elaborated on her decision to leave the top position at the NAIC in February of next year, NAIC leadership assured the audience that it had the international regulatory relationships and expertise in place to guide the organization through pivotal times in insurance regulation, international supervisory disputes and the U.S.presidential elections.
NAIC President Kevin McCarty, who, along with Vaughan, referred to the very strong international and Washington relationships and contacts of top NAIC officials also spoke of the importance of having Vaughan's replacement located in Washington, DC, following the "rebranding Terri has orchestrated."
Vaughan said that the organization is "so much bigger than one person," when asked about the transition time of the organization, now basically in the hands of McCarty.
Having the headquarters in Washington, where the CEO works, makes our presence more effective, Florida's insurance commissioner McCarty said.
McCarty himself has been active; traveling to Washington to testify before Congress and internationally on European-U.S. solvency supervision and other supervisory and solvency related travel stemming from the fallout of AIG's collapse into the arms of the federal government.
McCarty said Vaughan left a huge imprint on the NAIC culture and it is going to be very difficult to find somebody to replace her. Speculation about former Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Diane Koken was dismissed.
Vaughan said that challenges she foresees to the NAIC also include one of its strengths–the fact that state insurance commissioners are close to their states, but that there is a system of checks and balances, does mean that they coordinate to "constant, constant challenge …how do we make sure people are always coming together?"
Vaughan clearly has no exit strategy or path–the veteran insurance academic and actuary, born and bred on insurance, said she had "absolutely no idea what I 'll be doing." She noted that her father was in the insurance field and that "insurance has been my life." Vaughan also noted that she had a "passion for regulation and that she expects that "somehow I will find a way to be involved in insurance." She had earlier this year called international issues somewhat of a hobby for her and often represented U.S. regulatory interests abroad and kept a close hand on all international insurance supervisory developments.
