Julia Rathgeber will now take the place of Eleanor Kitzman, whose last day was on Monday.
Texas Governor Rick Perry has just announced the latest insurance news, that he has appointed Julia Rathgeber as the new state commissioner, as a replacement was needed for Eleanor Kitzman, whose time in the position ended at the close of the 2013 session.
Rathgeber has been the long time aide to Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst.
Now, Rathgeber, who is from Austin and had been the deputy chief of staff for the lieutenant governor until the appointment, is making insurance news by taking on the role of the top regulator of that industry in Texas.
This insurance news came as the Senate refused to give its support to Kitzman within the current session.
Kitzman, who was appointed by the governor in 2011, made insurance news headlines as she was forced to leave her position as commissioner when the Senate failed to give their support to her by even holding a vote as to whether or not she could stay. Without receiving confirmation within the 2013 session, she was no longer permitted to continue.
Rathgeber is a graduate of the University of Texas, Austin, law school. She has formerly held the position of director of research for the Texas General Land Office and has formerly headed a division of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission. Within her new position, she will be making insurance news as she oversees the Texas Department of Insurance.
A reappointment to the Senate has not been officially proffered by Governor Rick Perry, for Kitzman, now that she has left the insurance news arena. Her appointment to her former position has been shaky for a number of months as the Senate had not given its confirmation. Though she had been making a last minute effort to win them over – including hanging on to the annual profit numbers for the homeowners sector – she wasn’t able to convince enough people to save her spot.
That said, now that the data has been released, there have been some positive insurance news announcements regarding profits that were greater than the industry average.