COLUMBUS Womer Benjamin gets state position

The outgoing legislator also was considered as a candidate to run the state public safety department.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
COLUMBUS -- Although she didn't get the political job she wanted, outgoing state Rep. Ann Womer Benjamin is more than happy to be staying in public service.
Gov. Bob Taft appointed the four-term state representative Monday as director of the state insurance department. Womer Benjamin, an Aurora Republican, will start her new job Jan. 6.
Womer Benjamin had hoped she'd be busy in Washington, D.C., preparing to start a different new job: as a member of Congress for Ohio's 17th District, but she finished a distant second to U.S. Rep.-elect Tim Ryan, a Niles Democrat, in last month's election.
Shortly after the defeat, Womer Benjamin, who chaired the Ohio House's Criminal Justice Committee for four years, began discussing with Taft the possibility of being appointed to a Cabinet position, heading either the Department of Insurance or the Department of Public Safety. The final decision was made by Taft.
"I have had some experience with the impact of insurance and I can bring a new perspective to the department," Womer Benjamin said. "There are a lot of serious issues that will be at the forefront of the public and industry related to insurance in the coming years."
Malpractice insurance
Among those issues, she said, is medical malpractice insurance rates. The Legislature has passed and sent to Taft a compromise medical-malpractice insurance bill that doctors sought to slow the growth of premiums.
Democrats in the state Legislature and consumer advocates criticized former Insurance Director Lee Covington for not holding the industry accountable for increases in malpractice insurance rates for doctors.
Covington resigned earlier this month.
Womer Benjamin's annual salary is not yet determined, but a Taft spokesman said it will be comparable to the $111,196 Covington made. Womer Benjamin's annual salary as a state legislator was $59,518, which included a $6,500 bonus as chairman of the Criminal Justice Committee.
The Department of Insurance regulates more than 166,000 licensed insurance agents and 1,800 companies selling insurance products in Ohio.
The department, with a $30 million annual budget and about 265 employees, determines the financial soundness of insurance companies, investigates consumer complaints and insurance fraud and determines if services and benefits offered by insurance companies are consistent with policy provisions.
"I don't claim to be an insurance expert, but I think that is beneficial. I'm aware of the role of insurance, and I will bring the perspective of a consumer to this job," Woman Benjamin said.
Womer Benjamin was to visit the department today and meet with some of its top officials.
XCONTRIBUTOR: Jeff Ortega, Vindicator correspondent
skolnick@vindy.com