New insurance chief says cost No. 1 issue

Eleanor Kitzman is the new director of the S.C. Insurance Department, which regulates the state’s insurance companies.

Gov. Mark Sanford appointed her to replace Ernst Csiszar, who in August became head of the Property and Casualty Insurers Association of America.

The State caught up with Kitzman this week, a month after she was sworn in.

QUESTION: What characteristics qualify you for your job?

ANSWER: Governor Sanford, when he appointed me, cited my combination of legal, industry and small-business background.

I’m a lawyer who was in practice five years in Texas. I did a lot of insurance-regulation work. I’ve worked for a variety of insurance companies in marketing and operations positions, and in government relations. I was a small-business owner in South Carolina (who founded) Drivers Choice Insurance.

QUESTION: What is your department’s most important issue?

ANSWER: The availability and affordability of health insurance and coastal-property insurance are major issues. Health insurance availability and affordability is ... one of the biggest challenges in our society today.

QUESTION: In 2004, South Carolina tried to draw more property insurers to the state by making it easier for them to raise annual premiums by 7 percent. How much new competition has moved to the state since then?

ANSWER: The law went into effect in September of last year, but the number of hurricanes in Florida last year — while not directly affecting South Carolina — have had an overall chilling effect on the property insurance market.

(However, coastal-property) insurance is a very high priority for the department and for me personally. ... I plan to show (insurers) the advantages of doing business in South Carolina.

QUESTION: What changes will you make in your department?

ANSWER: I inherited a very good staff. I’m not sure any major changes are needed right now. ...

One of the biggest challenges (for the department) is the same as for any state agency: How can we deliver the highest-quality services in the most cost-effective manner? The answer is a combination of traditional regulation and leveraging of market forces without forgoing our consumer-protection responsibility.

QUESTION: What is the core of your management style?

ANSWER: Very hands on, and very performance oriented. I’m not a micromanager. I do want to understand how the different pieces of the operation work and how they fit together.

Reach McWilliams at (803) 771-8308 or jmcwilliams@thestate.com.