History & Commissioners
The New Hampshire Insurance Department was established in 1851, the first insurance regulatory agency in the United States. The rights and responsibilities of the Insurance Department are codified by the provisions of RSA 400-A of the Insurance Laws. By the provisions of this Chapter, the Insurance Commissioner is charged with all duties pertaining to the enforcement and execution of Insurance Laws of the State of New Hampshire.
The Insurance Commissioner is responsible for the collection of premium taxes and fees, regulation of all segments of the insurance industry as it performs in the marketplace, particularly in the treatment of policyholders and claimants. The Insurance Commissioner must be continually vigilant in ascertaining that insurance rates are neither excessive, nor inadequate or unfairly discriminatory.
The Insurance Commissioner is appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Council. The Commission, when created by the Legislature in 1851, consisted of three commissioners. In 1869 a single commissioner was substituted. The following is a list of commissioners from the beginning, with the term each served.
- Uri Lamprey, Hampton, 1852 - 1855
- Warren L. Lane, Manchester, 1852 - 1856
- Charles F. Brooks, Westmoreland, 1852 - 1853
- Timothy Hoskins, Westmoreland, 1853 - 1856
- John E. Stanyon, Kingston, 1855 - 1856
- Albert S. Scott, Peterborough, 1856-1859
- Jacob H. Ela, Rochester, 1856 - 1859
- George W. Conant, Enfield, 1856 - 1857
- Lorenzo Day, Enfield, 1857-1859
- Oliver C. Fisher, Henniker, 1859 - 1861
- Otis F.R. Waite, Claremont, 1859 - 1861
- Benjamin M. Colby, Sanbornton, 1859 - 1861
- George W. Conant, Enfield, 1862 - 1863
- C.V. Dearborn, Peterborough, 1862 - 1863
- James Gordon, Laconia, 1862 - 1865
- F.S. Greenleaf, Manchester, 1864 - 1866
- Joseph Gilman, Tamworth, 1865 - 1867
- E.M. Topliff, Manchester, 1866 - 1868
- John Flech, Sunapee, 1866 - 1869
- A.B. Wyatt, Sanbornton, 1868 - 1870
- Francis Winch, Nashua, 1868 - 1870
- Oliver Pillsbury, Concord, 1870 - 1888
- Henry H. Huse, Manchester, 1888 - 1890
- John C. Linehan, Concord, 1890 - 1905
- George H. Adams, Plymouth, 1905 - 1911
- Robert J. Merrill, Claremont, 1911 - 1914
- Joseph Warren, Rochester, 1914 - 1917
- Rufus N. Elwell, Exeter, 1917 - 1919
- John J. Donahue, Manchester 1919 - 1923
- John E. Sullivan, Somersworth, 1923 - 1937
- Arthur J. Rouillard, Claremont, 1937 - 1942
- Donald Knowlton, Concord, 1943 - 1968
- John A. Durkin, Manchester, 1968 - 1973
- Francis E. Whaland, Amherst, 1973 - 1983
- Louis E. Bergeron, Rochester, 1983 - 1993
- Sylvio L. Dupuis, OD, Manchester, 1994 - 1996
- Charles N. Blossom, Jr., Bow, 1996 - 1999
- Paula T. Rogers, Concord, 1999 - 2003
- Roger A. Sevigny, Manchester, 2003 - 2018
- John Elias, Henniker, 2018 - 2020
- Christopher Nicolopoulos, Bow, 2020 - 20223
- D.J. Bettencourt, Salem, 2023 - Present