Perspectives: You're in Good Hands With ... Who? For State Commissioners, the Names They Are a-Changin'

Ed Reimers, the voice that told a generation of Americans "you're in good hands with Allstate" in iconic television commercials, died last month at the age of 96.

It seems fitting then that this summer, it is hard for insurers and consumers -- particularly those on the East Coast -- to know in just whose hands insurance regulations are. From the District of Columbia to the Bay State, it's been a season of commissioners moving on.

It's a good thing the National Association of Insurance Commissioners hands out name tags at its meetings. Otherwise, regulators may not know who's who when they meet in National Harbor, Md., this month.

Massachusetts' Nonnie Burnes is the most recent commissioner to announce a departure. Burnes resigned, effective Sept. 18, to become a senior fellow at her alma mater, Northeastern University in Boston. Her deputy, Joseph Murphy, will take the top spot.

Burnes had only recently taken over the NAIC's Reinsurance Task Force, following the July departure of New Jersey's Steven Goldman, who returned to private law practice. Filling Goldman's dual banking and insurance role in New Jersey is former Prudential Insurance executive Neil Jasey, who "unretired" to take the post.

In Washington, D.C., Thomas Hampton is out after more than 20 years at the Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking, the last three as commissioner. Wanting to, as Hampton said, "go in a different direction" -- the administrative equivalent of "it's not you, it's me" -- Mayor Adrian Fenty chose Deputy Commissioner Gennet Purcell to take his place.

James J. Wrynn is the new superintendent in New York, stepping into the shoes of Eric Dinallo. Wrynn is actually New York's third insurance superintendent in as many months. Kermitt J. Brooks served as acting superintendent following Dinallo's departure, also taking over his role as chairman of the NAIC's Life Insurance and Annuities Committee. With Wrynn's appointment, he returned to the role of first deputy superintendent.

Dinallo -- who may have logged more airtime on CNBC than any guest not named Warren Buffett while working through American International Group Inc. and bond insurance issues -- may decide his shoes are running shoes. He formed an exploratory committee for a bid for state Attorney General, but has stopped short of launching a campaign.

Also on the move is John Garamendi, who served as both California's first elected insurance commissioner and its most recent former regulator. The state's current lieutenant governor was the top Democrat in a sprawling 14-candidate special election for U.S. Congress on Sept. 1.

While state commissioners meet in National Harbor Sept. 21-24, Garamendi will be planning his own business trip for a location eight miles away: Capitol Hill. His run-off election in a staunchly Democratic district is Nov. 3.