A congressman from California is asking the organization representing state insurance commissioners to explain what it meant last summer when it said it wanted to “to brand itself as a ‘standard-setting organization.”

The paperwork that insurance agents and brokers have to complete each day to ensure their clients obtain the proper coverage and to avoid regulatory intervention is incredibly challenging and time-consuming. Every agent knows: Make a small mistake and someone could suffer.

Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Thomas Sullivan announed his resignation Nov. 1, effective Nov. 15, when he will take a position at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Hartford, Conn.

Virginia Insurance Commissioner Alfred W. Gross, one of the longest serving at that post in the nation, plans to retire Dec. 31.

Six months ago, Beth Sammis was named acting insurance commissioner of the Maryland Insurance Administration and she may hold that title for a bit longer.

Beth Sammis, Maryland’s acting insurance commissioner, may be in the acting capacity until May 2011, possibly stretching her acting label past the nearly 13 months Joel Ario, Pennsylvania’s insurance commissioner, had to wait for state Senate approval two years ago.