Gov. Mark Sanford on Wednesday picked insurance industry veteran Eleanor Kitzman to serve as South Carolina's next insurance commissioner.

Although not a household name, Kitzman may look familiar to some: She appeared in numerous television commercials for the small auto insurance company she founded in 1999, Drivers Choice Insurance Services.

Kitzman sold the company in 2002 but continued to run it afterward and appeared on its ads. Her contract with Drivers Choice ended in October.

"What I've always looked for in this process are people who bring a business approach to government, and who look out for the taxpayers' bottom line," Sanford said. "That's particularly critical at an agency like DOI that's so closely tied to our economic development efforts as a state."

If confirmed by the Senate, Kitzman, 48, will replace Ernst Csiszar, who resigned as head of the Department of Insurance in August to take the top job at the Property and Casualty Insurers Association of America, an industry group.

Sanford took months to find a person to appoint to the job. Will Folks, his spokesman, said the governor was deliberate in his decision-making and that a number of people expressed interest in the job.

Kitzman will oversee a department with 85 workers and a budget of $7.8 million. It regulates nearly 2,000 insurance companies that contributed more than $140 million to the state budget last year. It also oversees more than 50,000 insurance agents, brokers, adjusters, appraisers and bail bondsmen.

The appointment was not exactly a big surprise. Kitzman was mentioned in connection with the commissioner job in 2002, shortly after Sanford took office. The governor ultimately decided to keep Csiszar, who was appointed by Sanford's predecessor, Gov. Jim Hodges.

Kitzman is an 18-year veteran of the insurance industry. A native of Texas, she graduated from the University of Houston in 1984 and received her law degree from South Texas College of Law in 1986, then spent five years practicing law, representing insurance companies.

She jumped to the industry in 1991 and worked for several large companies for the next eight years, including a stint at Integon Insurance Co. in North Carolina, which has since been bought by GMAC.

It was in that position that Kitzman went to Columbia in 1997 to testify on behalf of a bill that would deregulate the auto insurance industry.

"(Integon) did business in 28 states, but not South Carolina, which is in its own backyard," Kitzman said. "We couldn't figure out a way to do it properly because of the legal and regulatory hurdles."

The law passed. Less than two years later, Kitzman moved to South Carolina to start Drivers Choice. It started writing business in March of that year, the same month the new law took effect.

"I'm a huge proponent of deregulation," Kitzman said. "I have long been a proponent of market competition."

That view is a clear indication that Kitzman will likely steer the department in the same direction as Csiszar. Under his watch, the department gave companies more flexibility to set rates. And the commissioner was a champion of a bill Sanford signed last year to ease the process home insurers go through when hiking rates.

It was a stance that generated much controversy, especially among consumer groups.

At a news conference Wednesday, Sanford said that Csiszar was hard to replace.

"Nothing against Eleanor, but she doesn't have that wide breadth yet," Sanford said. He added he was confident she would "quickly grow into that position."

Kitzman said the insurance department can be an economic-development tool, a priority for Sanford. She said deregulation can bring more companies to an area, boost competition and give consumers more choices.

That said, Kitzman also pointed out the department plays a vital role as a public watchdog.

"When you're giving companies the opportunity to compete in an open market, I think that the state and the Department of Insurance have an obligation to make sure that companies are not taking unfair advantage of consumers," she said. "We have to make sure companies doing business here are solvent, financially sound, and are following the rules that you do operate under."