Newly-Installed Conn. Gov. Rell Reappoints Cogswell as Insurance Commissioner

Conn. Gov. Jodi Rell has asked Susan Cogswell, current insurance commissioner, to remain in the post, and Cogswell has accepted the reappointment.

“I am happy that Commissioner Susan Cogswell will be remaining as part of my new administration. Commissioner Cogswell’s experience with the insurance trade is an asset to the state of Connecticut. Her leadership on insurance matters will be of importance to this administration as we continue to strengthen bonds to this important Connecticut industry,” the new governor said in a statement.

Gov. Rell had directed that the state’s 60 commissioners, deputies and agency directors submit letters of resignation when she was sworn into office last month to succeed John Rowland, who resigned under an ethics cloud. Rell sought to review all gubernatorial appointments so she could put her own stamp on state government.

She quickly asked the commissioners of motor vehicles, veterans affairs, revenue services and public health to remain. Cogswell was not included in that first round of reappointments by the new governor.

However, Cogswell did meet with Rell shortly thereafter and, according to her spokesperson Kate Kierban-Pagani, she told the governor she was prepared to stay if asked.

“They discussed insurance issues and markets in Connecticut and the commissioner indicated her willingness to stay on the job,” Kierban-Pagani told Insurance Journal after that initial meeting. Rell did not ask Cogswell to remain on the job at their meeting but has now done so.

Her status having been clarified, Cogswell says she’s pleased to serve. “I am honored and pleased to be chosen by Governor Rell to remain as the head of the Connecticut Insurance Department. I look forward to continuing productive relationships with the insurance industry here in the state as we work on regulatory issues that will help to grow insurance businesses, as well as provide consumers with the protections they deserve,” Cogswell commented in a statement.

Cogswell, a Torrington resident, was appointed by Rowland in June 2000 to be insurance commissioner. She is the state’s first female commissioner.

Gov. Rell has not followed the same path with all appointments. She replaced the state’s public safety commissioner, economic development chief, head of the computer operations, two deputy transportation commissioners and the state’s top gambling regulator.

Topics Connecticut