CT Senate Confirms Josh Hershman as Insurance Commissioner

The Connecticut Senate unanimously confirmed Josh Hershman as the state’s insurance commissioner last week, capping a four-month stretch in which he’d already been running the Connecticut Insurance Department on an interim basis.

Hershman has held the role since December, when he stepped in after Andrew Mais retired following nearly seven years leading the department. The confirmation required a majority vote in either the Senate or the House. Senators went unanimous. Not exactly a cliffhanger.

“This confirmation represents an important milestone, and I am grateful for the trust placed in me,” Hershman said in a statement Friday. “Each day reinforces how essential our work is to Connecticut residents and businesses.”

Who He Is

Before taking the interim post, Hershman was CEO of Immigrant Life Insurance Company of America. That’s the most recent entry on a resume that mixes private-sector leadership with serious regulatory experience. From 2019 to 2022, he served as deputy commissioner and chief operating officer of Connecticut’s insurance department, where he ran projects examining artificial intelligence’s impact on insurance underwriting and pushed what he called data-driven regulatory modernization. He also spent years as a business litigation attorney before that. He lives in Guilford.

So this isn’t a political appointment of someone learning the industry on the job. Hershman knows the department’s internal workings, knows the carriers, and knows the regulatory pressure points. That background matters when the job description includes going toe-to-toe with large insurers over rate requests.

What He’s Promised

Consumer protection and affordability. Those two phrases came up repeatedly when Hershman spoke with CT Mirror in November, and they’re worth paying attention to if you own a home or buy health coverage in this state.

“Focusing on consumer protection is the top priority of the insurance commissioner; consumer protection from the top down to the bottom will be my No. 1 priority,” he told CT Mirror.

He didn’t leave it there. “Having innovation in [insurance], trying to bring more opportunity for consumers, will help mitigate some of the cost issues that exist,” he said. “Affordability is a huge issue in the state of Connecticut when it comes to health insurance, homeowners’ insurance. Every insurance is expensive. And I’m going to do my very best to try to alleviate the affordability issue in Connecticut.”

That’s a direct promise. Hold him to it.

Why This Matters on the Gold Coast

If you live in Fairfield County or anywhere along the shoreline, you’ve felt the homeowners’ insurance squeeze firsthand. Carriers have been tightening underwriting standards and raising premiums as climate-related risk assessments get more aggressive. Greenwich and Westport homeowners have seen renewal quotes jump sharply. Some carriers have quietly pulled back from coastal properties entirely.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has flagged Connecticut among the states where property insurance market stability deserves close regulatory attention. Hershman’s stated focus on affordability and consumer protection will be tested almost immediately, because the pressure from carriers isn’t easing.

Health insurance is its own separate headache. Connecticut’s small business owners and self-employed residents who buy on the individual market have watched premiums climb for years. Hershman mentioned health coverage specifically, which signals he’s aware the problem isn’t just coastal homeowners.

Lamont’s Pick

Gov. Ned Lamont nominated Hershman last fall and offered a clear endorsement. “Josh Hershman’s experience and broad understanding of the insurance industry and the regulatory framework that it operates within will serve him well as commissioner,” Lamont said. “I appreciate him for agreeing to serve in this leadership role.”

Lamont gets a confirmed commissioner with bipartisan legislative support, which gives Hershman real standing to push carriers on rate requests and coverage disputes. An interim commissioner operates from a weaker position. That changes now.

Reporting from CT Mirror first covered the confirmation vote.

What to Watch

Hershman takes over a department that spent several years under Mais quietly modernizing its data systems and increasing enforcement activity. The work he did as deputy commissioner between 2019 and 2022 laid some of that groundwork, so he’s not coming in cold.

The real test comes when a major carrier files for a double-digit rate increase, or when shoreline homeowners start losing coverage ahead of storm season. That’s when his consumer-first rhetoric either holds or it doesn’t.

For now, Connecticut has a confirmed insurance commissioner, and the General Assembly gave him every vote it could. Spring storm season starts soon. The clock is already running.