James H. "Jim" Brown - Push For Insurance Reforms

Push For Insurance Reforms

The legislature permitted Brown to hire eighty-five additional employees and appropriated $2 million for the required reform efforts.

Under Brown's tenure, the department obtained accreditation from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Insurance officials nationwide credited Brown with making a dramatic turnaround in the office, compared to the troubles under Bernard and Green.

As commissioner, Brown hosted a weekly public affairs television program called Town Meeting Louisiana Style, which could be viewed on some fifty cable systems around the state.

Brown ordered a team of insurance examiners to audit all Louisiana-based insurance companies. He established an anti-fraud unit within the department. Both measures, early in his administration, were intended to improve the state's business climate so as to attract insurance companies desiring to conduct operations in Louisiana.

In July 1992, Brown appointed the Louisiana Health Care Commission, a panel that he created to propose legislation to address the problem of the affordability and availability of health care.

A month later, Hurricane Andrew struck, and Brown dispatched department personnel to five emergency relief centers in south Louisiana to expedite insurance claims by working with storm victims and insurance company representatives.

In June 1993, the Shreveport Times stated editorially that Brown "should be strongly commended for transforming one of Louisiana's most corrupt agencies into a hard working agency dedicated to protecting people - not picking their pockets."

Similarly, the Madison Journal in Tallulah in Madison Parish, declared in August 1993 that the office which Brown "took over was in shambles. Brown has worked diligently to bring stability to the insurance industry in Louisiana. He has cleaned house, and the people of the insurance industry are complimentary of his performance."