I'm sure the phones were ringing in the offices of insurance carriers based in Illinois when the announcement came last week that secretary of the treasury Timothy Geithner had selected Michael McRaith to be the first director of the Federal Insurance Office.

The fear that someone would be put in charge of the insurance office that was unfamiliar with the industry—and its voluminous regulations—was for naught. McRaith not only has experience as the director of the Illinois Department of Insurance, but he also is the current secretary/treasurer of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).

McRaith has his work cut out for him. In creating the Federal Insurance Office, Congress has asked the director to submit a report to them by early 2012 on how best to modernize and improve insurance regulation.

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