On June 1, the Illinois Department of Insurance resumed its status as an independent department of State government, a position it held for more than a century prior to its consolidation with several other State agencies in 2004. This move results from Governor Pat Quinn’s (D) Executive Order 4, which re-established the Illinois Department of Insurance (DOI) as a regulatory agency separate from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Both the Illinois House and Senate also approved legislation re-establishing DOI as a separate Department.
What It Means to Agents: This action recognizes an important fact – insurance is not like banking, and it cannot be regulated in the same manner. In recent years, many states have consolidated their Departments of Insurance into agencies that also supervise banking and securities. Hopefully this action by Illinois to reestablish an independent DOI is something other states will consider.
Illinois DOI Re-established as Separate Department (Illinois DOI 6/3/09)
June 9, 2009