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The Connecticut State Capitol on January 7, 2025. Credit: Shahrzad Rasekh / CT Mirror

The state Senate has voted to confirm the appointment of Josh Hershman, an insurance executive, as commissioner of the state insurance department.

Hershman has been serving in the role on an interim basis since December. Senators unanimously approved his appointment last week. The confirmation requires a majority vote in either the Senate or House.

Hershman was most recently the CEO of Immigrant Life Insurance Company of America.

“This confirmation represents an important milestone, and I am grateful for the trust placed in me,” Hershman said in a statement Friday. “Each day reinforces how essential our work is to Connecticut residents and businesses.”

Josh Hershman has been serving as interim insurance commissioner since December. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Connecticut Department of Insurance

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 told The Connecticut Mirror in a November 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.”

Hershman succeeded Insurance Commissioner Andrew Mais, who in November announced his retirement after nearly seven years leading the department.

“Josh Hershman’s experience and broad understanding of the insurance industry and the regulatory framework that it operates within will serve him well as commissioner,” Gov. Ned Lamont said last fall. “I appreciate him for agreeing to serve in this leadership role.”

Jenna is a reporter on The Connecticut Mirror’s investigative desk. Her reporting on gaps in Connecticut’s elder care system prompted sweeping changes in nursing home and home care policy. Jenna has also covered lapses in long-term care facilities, investigated the impact of cyberattacks on hospitals, and uncovered the questionable dealings of health ministry groups that masquerade as insurance. Her reporting sparked reforms in health care and government oversight, helped erase medical debt for Connecticut residents, and led to the indictments of developers in a major state project. Her work has been recognized by the National Press Foundation and the Association of Health Care Journalists. Before joining CT Mirror, she was a reporter at The Hartford Courant, where she covered government in the capital city with a focus on corruption, theft of taxpayer funds, and ethical violations.