Thomas B. Leonardi, a financier who advises the insurance industry tapped to serve as Connecticut insurance commissioner, was described by a state judge as “fast and loose” with a state fund he established to boost industry jobs in the state.

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

The chairman of a National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) committee compared stranger-originated annuity transactions (STATs) to cockroaches, while others suggested the need for tighter regulation of the growing practice.

The friction between investors looking for opportunities and insurance companies whose products inadvertently provide those opportunities is forcing a hard look at stranger-originated annuity transactions (STATs), according to an industry expert.

A trade group of insurance and financial service professionals has voiced its opposition to the growing use of stranger-originated annuity transactions (STATs).

Four subsidiaries of property-casualty insurer GEICO, based in Maryland, were fined $177,500 by regulators in Connecticut for violations of state laws, ranging from improper rating to claims payment delays.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners plans to hold a public hearing May 20 in Washington, D.C., to explore the emergence of stranger originated or stranger owned annuities.

Premium increases by health insurers across the nation are taking center stage to justify the need for health care reform, as a way to stuff the pocket of company executives and now, in Connecticut, the reason the state should elect its insurance commissioner.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners intends to hold a hearing to explore the sale of annuities in the secondary insurance market.

Pledging to be “vigilant” in enforcing the state’s insurance laws, Connecticut’s insurance commissioner has fined Zurich Insurance Group $235,000 for several violations, including the use of unlicensed agents and adjusters.