Andrew Mais, who has led Connecticut’s Insurance Department for nearly seven years, announced Friday he is retiring from the position next week.
Gov. Ned Lamont tapped Josh Hershman, CEO of Immigrant Life Insurance Company of America and a former deputy commissioner at the insurance department, to succeed Mais.
“I’ve been at the department for almost seven years through some interesting times — the externalities we’ve had to face — everything from COVID to the federal government issues this year,” Mais, 66, said in an interview. “It’s been a demanding position.”
He declined to share his next move, other than to say he looks forward to spending time with his family.
Mais has overseen the department during several turbulent years, as insurers have persistently requested large increases on long-term care insurance plans and on health care coverage.
Department leaders faced criticism from residents over their approval of many sizable rate hikes for long-term care insurance.
A Connecticut Mirror investigation found the annual cost of maintaining those policies has leaped for many due to miscalculations by insurers on how long people would live, the price of care and how many would need it. Consumers face large rate increases, often exceeding 50% and, for a few dozen people, as high as 174%, according to a CT Mirror analysis.
A review of rate hikes from January 2019 to October 2024 shows that more than 17,000 people with long-term care policies have gotten hit with increases of 50% or more. Some of the biggest companies in the market, including Genworth Financial, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and Transamerica Life Insurance Company, requested hikes for five years in a row beginning in 2019.
Lawmakers introduced more than a dozen pieces of legislation this year aimed capping increases, increasing transparency around rate hikes and other consumer protection measures. Some called for audit of the insurance department’s rate review process. The insurance sector opposed many of the bills.
Last week, NBC Nightly News published a report on long-term care insurance rate hikes in Connecticut that followed CT Mirror’s coverage.
“It’s all about consumer protection in what is often a difficult environment. We’ve had a team here … that has been steadfast in their commitment to that, so I feel good knowing we have done everything we can,” Mais said Friday.
“I believe there comes a time when somebody new should take over, somebody new should take the helm. I think I’ve done as much as I could for at this department. I spent the last almost seven years working with everyone to try to protect consumers. It’s simply time to pass the torch.”
Insurers in recent years have also requested steeper rate increases on health care plans, including seeking a 23% average hike on individual policies this year and 20.4% in 2022. The department approved average increases of 16.8% this year and 12.9% in 2022.
While running the insurance department, Mais focused on “ensuring that Connecticut consumers have the resources they need to adequately protect themselves and their properties and mitigate their risk,” officials with Lamont’s office said in a statement. That included the establishment of the Connecticut Severe Weather Mitigation and Resiliency Advisory Council in 2024, which aims to help homeowners and businesses maintain more resilient properties.
He worked previously for Deloitte’s Center for Financial Services and as a director at the New York State Insurance Department. Mais also led conversations on race, diversity and inclusion at the state level and within the insurance industry.
Mais’ last day is Nov. 28. Hershman will begin work on an interim basis Dec. 12. Lamont said he will formally submit his nomination to the legislature at the start of the 2026 regular session in February.
From 2019 to 2022, Hershman was deputy commissioner and chief operating officer of Connecticut’s insurance department, where he led projects that explored AI’s impact on insurance and championed data-driven regulatory modernization. Before that, he practiced law with a focus on complex business planning and litigation, officials said. He lives in Guilford.
“Focusing on consumer protection is the top priority of the insurance commissioner; consumer protection from the top down to the bottom will be my No. 1 priority,” he said in an interview.
“Having innovation in [insurance], trying to bring more opportunity for consumers, will help mitigate some of the cost issues that exist. Affordability is a huge issue in the state of Connecticut when it comes to health insurance, homeowners’ insurance — every insurance is expensive — and I’m going to do my very best to try to alleviate the affordability issue in Connecticut.”
Jenna Carlesso is a reporter for the Connecticut Mirror. Copyright 2025 @ CT Mirror (ctmirror.org).