LINCOLN – Today, Governor Pete Ricketts thanked Department of Insurance Director Bruce Ramge for his longstanding and distinguished service to the State of Nebraska.
Ramge has announced his retirement after ten years of leading the State’s top insurance regulatory agency as director. He’s the longest-serving Insurance Director in state history. His public service with the Nebraska Department of Insurance (NDOI) began with the Market Conduct Division in September of 1984. He accepted the position of Chief of Market Regulation in 1999 prior to being appointed director of NDOI in January of 2010.
“Under Bruce’s leadership, Nebraska has gained a reputation for having fair and consistent insurance regulation,” said Gov. Ricketts. “He has done great work to help Nebraska’s insurance industry grow into one of the largest in the nation, bringing jobs and economic opportunities to the state. States across the country now look to Nebraska for guidance on their regulatory frameworks for insurance, which is a testament to Bruce’s successful tenure with the agency. I appreciate his outstanding service and wish him an enjoyable retirement.”
“I’m thankful to have been entrusted with the responsibility of leading Nebraska’s Department of Insurance for the past decade,” said Ramge. “Serving the State of Nebraska has been an honor, and I’ve been blessed to be surrounded by an incredible team throughout my time with the agency. Our state’s insurance industry is thriving, and I am fully confident that the department will continue to be a national leader in providing thoughtful and measured insurance regulation going forward.”
Under Ramge’s leadership, the Department of Insurance has improved customer service, streamlined processes, enhanced transparency, and successfully aligned Nebraska’s insurance regulations with new federal laws and evolving international supervisory standards. His accomplishments include:
- Serving Nebraska citizens with consumer assistance by addressing inquiries and complaints and by providing consumer notices and alerts. The Department of Insurance has also responded to consumer requests for information following several natural disasters from floods and tornadoes.
- Establishing a consumer chat line on the Department website.
- Maintaining an outwardly seamless continuity of service and operations while experiencing a sudden loss of office space due to smoke and water damage from the February 2018 fire in the terminal building.
- Facilitating the regulatory processes for the formation of 12 new Nebraska insurance companies and the re-domicile of 20 insurers from other locations into Nebraska.
- Participating in numerous Lean Six Sigma process improvement endeavors to create more efficient and effective functions within the Department of Insurance. Those endeavors included the creation of efficiencies by publishing clear guidelines for the filing, approval, and sale of insurance products. The Department has taken steps to provide more transparent and assessable standards for insurers and the public.
- Working in partnership with the Nebraska Insurance Federation to create a forum for the understanding and promotion of technology in insurance. Those summit and speaker series presentations are available on www.siliconprairienebraska.com.
- Earning two rounds of accreditation from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
- Assisting the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) with various endeavors relating to market conduct and financial regulation and serving as chair or member of several different NAIC committees.
- Assisting the National Insurance Producer Registry and the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission audit committees.
- Overseeing the implementation of federal requirements relating to the Affordable Care Act and educating Nebraska citizens through town hall meetings across the state.
- Keeping Nebraska in line with growing international insurance supervisory standards. As part of those endeavors, the Department initiated and maintains ongoing regulatory information sharing with insurance supervisors from Japan, Germany, and Great Britain.
Ramge’s retirement is effective as of April 9, 2021.
