NU Online News Service, Sept. 27, 12:12 p.m.EDT

WASHINGTON—The Senate last night confirmed the nomination of RoyWoodall to be the independent member of the Financial StabilityOversight Council with insurance expertise.

He was named for a six-year term.

The action was done by unanimous consent as part of an agreementto confirm the nomination of a number of people for seats onboards, courts and independent commissions.

However, a number of other appointments to head federalregulatory agencies, including banking and securities agencies,remain outstanding because of Republican opposition.

Woodall's nomination was approved by the Senate Banking Committee Sept.8. 

The seat is mandated by the Dodd-Frank financial servicesmodernization law creating the FSOC.

He will be one of three insurance representatives on the FSOC,and the only one with voting power.

Two non-voting insurance representatives currently sit on theFSOC: Missouri Insurance Director John Huff is the representativeof National Association of Insurance Commissioners and MichaelMcRaith, director of the new Federal Insurance Office.

Industry officials laud the confirmation and say they lookforward to working closely with Woodall on insurance issues relatedto the FSOC.

Jimi Grande, senior vice president of federal and politicalaffairs for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies,says, "Roy Woodall is a tremendous insurance expert with many yearsof experience."

Grande said that having someone on the FSOC who is not "bankingcentric and understands the fundamental differences of theinsurance industry can only help this council reach sounderdecisions."

Charles Symington, IIABA senior vice of government affairs, saysWoodall's confirmation comes on the heels of calls urging that aninsurance expert be nominated to the FSOC before it makes anyfurther policy decisions that could impact this important sector ofour economy.

"Woodall has a strong history of working on insurance-policyissues at both the state and federal level, and the IIABA looksforward to continuing to work with him in his new capacity on theFSOC."

Leigh Ann Pusey, president and CEO of the AmericanInsurance Association adds that Woodall "is uniquely qualified toserve in this position and the entire industry has been eager forhim to begin in his official capacity."  

Ben McKay, PCI senior vice president of federal governmentrelations, says "The FSOC has been deliberating over rules forregulating nonbank financial institutions without the benefit of avoting insurance representative." He notes that Woodall brings"extensive experience in the insurance sector and a deepunderstanding of the state insurance regulatory system."

Roy Woodall was Kentucky insurance commissioner from1966-67. He also served as president of the NationalAssociation of Life Companies (NALC), and upon NALC's merger intothe American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), he served as ACLI'smanaging director for issues and vice president/chief counsel forstate relations. He recently retired as the senior insurance policyanalyst at the Department of the Treasury, where he served from2002 to 2011. From 2001 to 2002, Woodall was an insuranceconsultant for the Congressional Research Service.