Staff ReportsRichard “Rich” Koon is joining Floridian Partners — bringing his 28 years of regulatory experience to the firm.
As the former Deputy Insurance Commissioner for the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, he had direct oversight of all regulated property and casualty insurance contracts and rates, as well as financial oversight of insurers. Koon led the property and casualty division through some of the most challenging insurance markets in Florida’s history. He also led efforts to restore Florida’s once fragile residential property market to its best position in decades.
“Richard brings a wealth of knowledge and experience and we are thrilled to have him join our team,” Charlie Dudley, managing partner of Floridian Partners, said. “Given the importance of insurance issues in Florida, across the United States and around the globe, Richard’s depth of experience as former deputy insurance commissioner in a mega state like Florida will be a tremendous asset to our clients in and outside of Florida.”
“Insurers are often challenged by state-specific regulations put in place to address unique circumstances — whether they are a result of catastrophes like hurricanes and floods or other cost drivers stemming from our legal system,” Koon said. “These challenges are further exacerbated when insurers are doing business in multiple jurisdictions which present a range of unique circumstances across local, state, and federal boundaries. I look forward to helping our clients overcome these challenges using my regulatory experience at the state and national level.”
Koon joined the agency in 1987, and was reviewing contracts for the Property & Casualty Product Review Unit when Hurricane Andrew made landfall in Florida in 1992. His many years analyzing property and casualty insurance contracts made him an expert in several lines, including homeowners and private passenger automobile. In 1996, he took his contract skills to the workers’ compensation section. Koon became a go-to guy for workers’ compensation matters, and was instrumental in returning hundreds of thousands of dollars to business owners overcharged in workers’ compensation premium.
Five years later, Koon led the reorganization of the property and casualty forms section. There, he served as the subject matter expert for several property and casualty lines. That led him to teach courses in homeowners and private passenger automobile insurance, and train statewide mediators in the complexities of homeowners insurance contracts after the historic hurricanes of 2004 (Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne). He also became the point person for terrorism insurance issues and other hot topics.
Koon was appointed Deputy Insurance Commissioner of property and Casualty in 2011, overseeing both the product review unit and the financial oversight unit. As Florida recovered from the Great Recession, Koon implemented a number of regulatory reforms in both units that helped the Florida insurance market become the strongest it has been since Hurricane Andrew. His work with insurance executives has improved opportunities for insurance companies and insurance consumers through such efforts as depopulating Florida’s residual market (Citizen’s Property Insurance Corp.).
Over the years, Koon has become nationally recognized and highly respected as an expert in property and casualty insurance. He has been appointed to numerous boards and committees to address property and casualty insurance issues, including prominent positions with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). At the NAIC, Koon participated on numerous task force and working groups, including chairman of the Catastrophe Insurance Working Group for the past five years. Koon brings a reputation of straight talk, fairness, strong skills, experience, and a tremendous work ethic to the government and regulatory practice of Floridian Partners.
