# Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner

The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance of Wisconsin is an independent agency of the Wisconsin state government responsible for supervising and regulating the insurance industry in Wisconsin. The office licenses insurers operating in the state, examines their financial and business practices, investigates consumer complaints, ensures compliance with state laws and regulations, and provides information on the insurance industry to the public.
The Office is headquartered in the State Education Building, or GEF-3, in downtown Madison, Wisconsin.

## History

The insurance business was first authorized and regulated in Wisconsin in 1870 (1870 Wisc. Act 56). The original law vested insurance regulation as a power of the Secretary of State of Wisconsin. These powers were transferred to a separate commissioner of insurance by an act of the Wisconsin Legislature in 1878 (1878 Wisc. Act 214). The office was initially designed as a gubernatorial appointee, and the first insurance commissioner, Philip L. Spooner, Jr., was appointed by Governor William E. Smith. In 1881, however, a new act of the Legislature (1881 Wisc. Act 300) converted the appointed office into a state-wide elected office. This continued until 1911, when the office was converted back into a gubernatorial appointee.

## Organization

The senior leadership of the Office consists of the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner, along with the administrators and directors of the internal divisions of the Office.
* Commissioner: Nathan Houdek
* Deputy Commissioner: Rachel Cissne Carabell
* Administrator of Financial Regulation: Amy Malm
* Administrator of Market Regulation & Enforcement: Rebecca Rebholz
* Director of Operational Management: Jesse Patchak
* Director of Public Affairs: Sarah Smith
* Director of the Office of Administrative Services: Kristina Thole
* Chief Legal Counsel: Richard Wicka

### Subordinate boards

Separate from the ordinary organizational structure of the Office, there are a number of commissions and boards created by acts of the Wisconsin Legislature to oversee, advise, or administer certain funds.
* Board of Directors of the Insurance Security Fund
* Board of Governors of the Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund / Wisconsin Health Care Liability Insurance Plan
* Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund Peer Review Council

## Commissioners

| Order | Commissioner | Took office | Left office | Notes |
| 1 | Philip L. Spooner Jr. | April 1, 1878 | January 3, 1887 | Appointed by William E. Smith, then elected in 1881 and 1884. |
| 2 | Philip Cheek Jr. | January 3, 1887 | January 5, 1891 | Elected in 1886 and 1888. |
| 3 | Wilbur M. Root | January 5, 1891 | January 7, 1895 | Elected in 1890 and 1892. |
| 4 | William A. Fricke | January 7, 1895 | January 2, 1899 | Elected in 1894 and 1896. |
| 5 | Emil Giljohann | January 2, 1899 | January 5, 1903 | Elected in 1898 and 1900. |
| 6 | Zeno M. Host | January 5, 1903 | January 7, 1907 | Elected in 1902 and 1904. |
| 7 | George E. Beedle | January 7, 1907 | January 2, 1911 | Elected in 1906 and 1908. |
| 8 | Herman Ekern | January 2, 1911 | June 30, 1915 | Elected in 1910. The law changed in 1911, turning the office into an appointed position. Governor Francis E. McGovern attempted to remove him in 1913, but he successfully sued the governor to remain in office. |
| | Lewis A. Anderson | January 15, 1913 | January 30, 1913 | Appointed by Francis E. McGovern, but appointment was enjoined by the court, then vetoed by the Wisconsin Senate. |
| 9 | M. J. Cleary | June 30, 1915 | April 10, 1919 | Appointed by Emanuel L. Philipp. Resigned. |
| 10 | Platt Whitman | April 16, 1919 | June 30, 1923 | Appointed by Emanuel L. Philipp. |
| 11 | W. Stanley Smith | June 30, 1923 | June 1, 1926 | Appointed by John J. Blaine. Resigned. |
| 12 | Oswald H. Johnson | June 2, 1926 | January 7, 1927 | Appointed by John J. Blaine. Resigned. |
| 13 | Milton A. Freedy | January 11, 1927 | June 30, 1931 | Appointed by Fred R. Zimmerman. |
| 14 | H. J. Mortensen | June 30, 1931 | June 30, 1939 | Appointed by Philip La Follette. |
| 15 | Morvin Duel | September 20, 1939 | August 18, 1948 | Appointed by Julius P. Heil. Re-appointed by Walter Samuel Goodland (1943) and Oscar Rennebohm (1947). Died in office. |
| 16 | John R. Lange | November 27, 1948 | June 1, 1955 | Appointed by Oscar Rennebohm. |
| 17 | Alfred Van De Zande | June 1, 1955 | November 1, 1955 | Appointed by Walter J. Kohler Jr. |
| 18 | Paul J. Rogan | November 1, 1955 | June 1, 1959 | Appointed by Walter J. Kohler Jr. |
| 19 | Charles L. Manson | June 1, 1959 | September 15, 1965 | Appointed by Gaylord Nelson. Re-appointed by John W. Reynolds Jr. (1963). Reached mandatory retirement age. |
| 20 | Robert Haase | September 15, 1965 | September 7, 1969 | Appointed by Warren P. Knowles. Resigned. |
| 21 | Stanley C. Du Rose Jr. | October 1, 1969 | April 9, 1975 | Appointed by Warren P. Knowles. |
| 22 | Harold R. Wilde | April 9, 1975 | April 16, 1979 | Appointed by Patrick Lucey. |
| 23 | Susan Mitchell | April 16, 1979 | August 1, 1982 | Appointed by Lee S. Dreyfus. |
| 24 | Ann Haney | August 1, 1982 | March 1, 1983 | Appointed by Lee S. Dreyfus. |
| 25 | Thomas P. Fox | March 1, 1983 | April 24, 1987 | Appointed by Tony Earl. Resigned. |
| 26 | Robert Haase | April 24, 1987 | December 16, 1992 | Appointed by Tommy Thompson. Resigned. |
| | John Torgerson | December 16, 1992 | March 8, 1993 | Acting commissioner. |
| 27 | Josephine Musser | March 8, 1993 | January 2, 1998 | Appointed by Tommy Thompson. |
| | Randy Blumer | January 2, 1998 | January 4, 1999 | Acting commissioner. |
| 28 | Connie L. O'Connell | January 4, 1999 | February 5, 2003 | Appointed by Tommy Thompson. |
| 29 | Jorge Gomez | February 5, 2003 | January 1, 2007 | Appointed by Jim Doyle. |
| 30 | Sean Dilweg | January 1, 2007 | January 3, 2011 | Appointed by Jim Doyle. |
| 31 | Ted Nickel | January 3, 2011 | January 7, 2019 | Appointed by Scott Walker. |
| 32 | Mark Afable | January 7, 2019 | December 31, 2021 | Appointed by Tony Evers. |
| 33 | Nathan Houdek | January 1, 2022 | Current | Appointed by Tony Evers. |