NU Online News Service, July 27, 10:13 a.m.EDT

Roy Woodall, the presumptive independent member with insuranceexpertise on the Financial Stability Oversight Council,vowed at a confirmation hearing to "vote his conscience"as a member of the new agency.

"Insurance is in my blood," he adds.

Woodall explains that his grandfather, C.A. Woodall,started selling insurance from a mule-drawn wagon in 1904 andcontinued to be a leading insurance producer in Princeton andWestern Kentucky for over 50 years.

He adds, "My father, Roy Woodall Sr., started his own generalagency in Paducah, Ky. in the 1920s and ran it until he retired in1973."

Insurance-industry trade groups voiced strong support forWoodall in statements issued at the hearing. The American InsuranceAssociation, the Property Casualty Insurers Association of Americaand the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies allurged prompt confirmation of Woodall.

But Sam Gilford, a spokesman for the committee, says committeepolicy is for nominees to be given a week to respond to writtenquestions asked by members of the committee. Woodall's nominationis not expected to be reported out by the committee until the weekis up.

Currently, the Senate is scheduled to adjourn for a month-longrecess Aug. 8.

In testimony at his confirmation hearing before the SenateBanking Committee, Woodall also said in response to a question thathe did not believe that an insurance company involved in"traditional" insurance activities is "likely" to constitute apotential system risk to the financial system.

Woodall received a warm welcome from members of the committee,with Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., opening the hearing saying that hewas "pleased" to consider Woodall's nomination.

He added that American International Group Inc. (AIG) showed howinterconnected the insurance industry is with the health of oureconomy. "I am sure Woodall's contribution as an FSOC member willbe invaluable."

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., ranking minority member of thecommittee, also brought up AIG while questioning Woodall.

Shelby noted the key role played by AIG in the 2008 financialcrisis, and asked whether insurance companies should be considereda systemic risk to the system.

Woodall responded by saying insurance companies should beevaluated for being systemically risky on a case-by-case basis/

Woodall added that he did not think AIG was representative ofthe insurance industry as a whole. "It's only when insurancecompanies go beyond the traditional business model [that] they getin trouble," Woodall said.