Terry Johnson, state director of Business & Industry, announced two new appointments to his department. Johnson has appointed James Westrin to be commissioner of Mortgage Lending and Scott Kipper to be insurance commissioner. Westrin will be based in the Mortgage Lending Division’s Las Vegas office. Kipper will be based in the Insurance Division’s Carson City office. Both gentlemen started their respective appointments Monday, Oct. 24.
At the Insurance Division, Mr. Kipper will replace former Insurance Commissioner Brett Barratt, who resigned in August.
Kipper has many years of experience in the insurance industry. He previously served as Nevada’s insurance commissioner from December 2008 to June 2010. After leaving Nevada in 2010 he served as the deputy commissioner in charge of the Office of Health Insurance for the Louisiana Department of Insurance, and as chief executive officer of the State of Louisiana Office of Group Benefits. He also previously served as the Oregon Insurance Administrator. He spent two years on the staff of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in Washington, D.C. as a health analyst, working on senior health insurance issues.
Kipper began his regulatory career at the Wyoming Department of Insurance, serving as a life and health insurance standards consultant. Commissioner Kipper has private insurance industry experience as well. Most recently he served as the principle of SJKipper Consultants.
Kipper will be the chief regulator of Nevada’s insurance industry. The industry generates approximately $235 million in premium tax revenue for the State of Nevada. The total premium dollar amount of all lines of insurance in Nevada for 2010 was approximately $11 billion. There are 2,309 admitted carriers in Nevada. Of these, 187 are domestic to Nevada.
Westrin brings over 12 years of experience as a regulator in the financial services industry with the State of Michigan. He worked in Michigan’s Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation, where he developed specialized expertise in residential mortgage banking, regulatory matters, and administrative law. Westrin has a B.A. in Social Science-Law and Society from Michigan State University and a J.D. with a concentration in Corporate Law from Michigan State University College of Law.