State Insurance Commissioner

John A. Donaho, Maryland's former insurance commissioner who became such a critic of the industry he regulated that he lost his job, died of kidney failure and complications from diabetes Friday at Stella Maris Hospice. The Timonium resident was 88. In his nearly 70 years of work, Mr. Donaho had been an assistant to the federal budget director under President Franklin D. Roosevelt and later became a problem solver for two governors and mayors, Theodore R. McKeldin and William Donald Schaefer.

Wednesday's annual joint evening meeting of the Greater Catonsville Chamber of Commerce and the Arbutus Business and Professional Association will be devoted to health-care reform and its effect on small business. Therese Goldsmith, Maryland's insurance commissioner, will be the guest speaker for the Sept. 14 event, which will be held at the Jenkins Senior Living Community, 3320 Benson Ave., 5:30-7:30 p.m. She will address the state's role in setting up the Small Business Health Options Programs, or "SHOP Exchanges," where small businesses will be able to pool resources to buy insurance.

In a highly unusual action, the state insurance commissioner has shut down an Ellicott City settlement company after investigators determined that at least $500,000 in mortgage money was missing from company accounts.In addition, a federal judge has ordered the bank accounts of the company, Land Title Research of Maryland, and its president, Joseph E. Goldberg Sr., frozen so that investigators can unravel the company's financial records."It's a lot of money to be missing," said Joy Hatchette, an assistant attorney general who represents the Maryland Insurance Administration.

A member of the state's top utility regulatory board has been appointed state insurance commissioner. Therese Goldsmith will assume her new role on June 13, according to an announcement from Gov. Martin O'Malley's office. The Public Service Commission will soon be setting the schedule to review the merger between Constellation Energy Group and Exelon Corp. The $7.9 billion deal, if approved, would create the largest competitive provider of energy in the United States. "We're aware of the importance of many matters pending before the PSC and are working to make the replacement as soon as possible," said Takirra Winfield, a spokeswoman for O'Malley.

D id you see where Bill Jews is still looking for money? He thinks he was entitled to $18 million when he finally departed as CEO of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, but the state insurance commissioner said he should only get half of that, a crummy $9 million, so there's an argument raging, and Mr. Jews had to hire a lawyer to get this settled. Times are tough, can you blame him? First, Mr. Jews went to federal court to get his full severance package reinstated. He claimed he had an agreement for the lovely parting gift going back to the late 1990s, and no matter what unsavory things happened in the intervening years, a deal's a deal.

Edward J. Birrane Jr., an attorney and former state insurance commissioner, died Sunday of pancreatic cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The Lutherville resident was 64. At his death, Mr. Birrane was the head of Edward J. Birrane Chartered, a Towson law firm that specializes in representing insurance companies and agents in business transactions, lawsuits and regulatory matters. Mr. Birrane was considered an expert on the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act and in the development of self-funded employee benefit arrangements.

Martha C. Roach, a high-ranking state official until she became president of Agency Insurance Co. of Maryland in April 1993, is seeking more than $5 million in damages from the Linthicum company after being fired last October.Ms. Roach, who headed the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund from 1988 to 1993 and also was a former acting insurance commissioner, filed the lawsuit in Baltimore County Circuit Court against Agency Insurance (AIC). The suit also names eight company officials, including Chairman Henry H. Stansbury.

"Cut the red tape," shouted some 300 labor union and community group activists who rallied at Preston Gardens downtown yesterday to press their demand for a national health care system.Later, the ralliers marched a block north to the offices of the state insurance commissioner at 501 St. Paul Place, where they wrapped the pillars with red tape, then cut it with shears to symbolize inequities and inefficiencies of the present private health insurance system."Millions of Americans are mired in the insurance quagmire," and some 37 million persons are without any health insurance, said Janelle Cousino, executive director of Maryland Citizen Action Coalition.

Acting on scores of complaints about how poorly insurance companies responded to Tropical Storm Isabel, community leaders and government leaders have scheduled a series of meetings in eastern Baltimore County over the next week to determine what went wrong and to help storm victims file insurance appeals. "This isn't going to be another town meeting where everyone stands up and says their piece," said Bernice Myer, president of the Millers Island Improvement Association and founder of the Isabel Victims Citizens Group.

ANNAPOLIS -- Against a backdrop of bad financial news from USF&G Corp., Maryland's largest insurance company, and a report that raised questions about the insurance industry's financial health, state legislators will weigh tough new insurance regulations.Under a series of recommendations that will be made to the Governor's Commission on Insurance tomorrow, Maryland insurance companies would have to increase their capital and surplus levels fivefold, and the state insurance commissioner would have broader powers to head off insurer insolvencies, a representative of the commission said yesterday.

D id you see where Bill Jews is still looking for money? He thinks he was entitled to $18 million when he finally departed as CEO of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, but the state insurance commissioner said he should only get half of that, a crummy $9 million, so there's an argument raging, and Mr. Jews had to hire a lawyer to get this settled. Times are tough, can you blame him? First, Mr. Jews went to federal court to get his full severance package reinstated. He claimed he had an agreement for the lovely parting gift going back to the late 1990s, and no matter what unsavory things happened in the intervening years, a deal's a deal.

Some folks celebrate their last home mortgage payment by setting fire to their loan agreement. Lately, people behind on their mortgages are setting fire to their homes. In what appears to the latest symptom of the U.S. mortgage and credit crisis, insurers, law enforcement agencies and state agencies nationwide have reported a jump in the past year in home and automobile fires set by owners unable to pay their debts. The numbers are small but are leading the insurance industry to scrutinize more closely what seem to be routine blazes.

Racketeering claims filed The Massachusetts owner of a Sparrows Point shipyard and certain affiliates were given two weeks to answer racketeering claims filed against them two weeks ago in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. If they don't, the defendants face a default judgment of up to $2.25 million, according to court documents. Jobless rate rises in Md. Unemployment in Maryland rose and job growth slowed last month as national economic troubles touched off by the slumping housing market continued to take a toll.

Extension of a state program that subsidizes doctors' malpractice insurance premiums appears unneeded in the face of $68.6 million surplus accumulated by the state's largest malpractice insurer, a key legislator said yesterday. Sen. Brian E. Frosh, chairman of the state Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, said the subsidy had allowed the state's doctors to "weather the temporary storm" brought on by skyrocketing insurance premiums but won't need to be continued after it expires next year.

All along the Atlantic Coast, homeowners, insurance companies and state officials are trying to figure how to cope with the growing risk of catastrophic loss caused by hurricanes. What they've learned is: There are no easy answers. Yet with global warming playing havoc with the weather, the quest for a workable solution in Maryland must be addressed quickly - with an eye toward prevention of weather disasters and incentives to reduce risk as well as providing a safety net for those caught in circumstances beyond their control.

John A. Donaho, Maryland's former insurance commissioner who became such a critic of the industry he regulated that he lost his job, died of kidney failure and complications from diabetes Friday at Stella Maris Hospice. The Timonium resident was 88. In his nearly 70 years of work, Mr. Donaho had been an assistant to the federal budget director under President Franklin D. Roosevelt and later became a problem solver for two governors and mayors, Theodore R. McKeldin and William Donald Schaefer.

Some home buyers and sellers were shocked recently when they learned a Towson-based title company that handled their real estate closings had shut down due to financial irregularities. The action spawned several questions. What risks do these homeowners run? What should they do to make sure the settlement company has properly completed their purchase, sale or refinance transactions? Settlement companies usually are responsible for collecting and disbursing all funds involved in the purchase or refinancing of real estate.

Racketeering claims filed The Massachusetts owner of a Sparrows Point shipyard and certain affiliates were given two weeks to answer racketeering claims filed against them two weeks ago in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. If they don't, the defendants face a default judgment of up to $2.25 million, according to court documents. Jobless rate rises in Md. Unemployment in Maryland rose and job growth slowed last month as national economic troubles touched off by the slumping housing market continued to take a toll.

R. Steven Orr, an information technology executive, was named by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. yesterday to become state insurance commissioner to complete the term vacated by Alfred W. Redmer last fall. Orr, 53, will fill the remainder of a four-year term that began in June 2003. The recess appointment is subject to approval by the Maryland Senate during the 2006 legislative session that begins next week. A relative unknown in local insurance circles, Orr was until Wednesday chief information officer for Universal Underwriters Group, an Overland Park, Kan., firm that sells insurance to auto dealerships and other auto service providers.

State Insurance Commissioner Alfred W. Redmer Jr., who came to office with a mandate to increase competition in Maryland's insurance industry, has resigned his post to head a Delaware health maintenance organization. The former Republican delegate and insurance broker from Perry Hall was admired by industry officials, but his two years in office were marked by several disputes. He eventually won over those who criticized his response to complaints stemming from Tropical Storm Isabel, but he was rebuked by Democrats for his political activity and for his decision to let HMOs pass along a tax increase to their customers.