Mike Chaney, Insurance Commissioner
Mike Chaney, a Tupelo native and long-time resident of Vicksburg, is Mississippi’s Insurance Commissioner.
Prior to taking office in January 2008, Commissioner Chaney served seven years in the Mississippi House of Representatives and eight years in the Mississippi Senate, where he was the first Republican to serve as Chairman of the Education Committee.
Commissioner Chaney also served as a key member of the Senate Insurance Committee and Chairman of the Senate Education Committee.
He is a graduate of Mississippi State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Finance and is a veteran of the United States Army, serving in Vietnam from 1968-69.
He is married to Mary Thurmond Chaney, and the couple has three married children and eight grandchildren.
Adam E. Stanhope, Sr. Compliance Consultant
Adam joined The Hanover Insurance Group as a customer service representative for Claims in 1987 and worked through several different roles within the Claims organization over the following 25 years, including adjusting No Fault and Bodily Injury claims, Worker’s Compensation and Assigned Risk Claim Management. During his last 7 years as part of the Claims organization he worked as an Automation Analyst responsible for the design and development of various claim related software applications as well as maintenance and reporting of claim system activity. In 2012, Adam joined The Hanover’s Corporate Compliance team as a senior analyst with responsibility for managing consumer complaints, market conduct exams, review of laws and regulations and various other compliance issues related to various aspects of the company’s business operations.
Adam is an adjunct faculty member of Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, Massachusetts which sought his assistance to develop and conduct introductory insurance courses for their Business and Technology school. He is also a member of the executive committee for the Insurance Consumer Affairs Exchange, a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and holds several other industry designations in both insurance and risk management studies.
Jim McNally - Bio
Jim works for Travelers as a Director in the Corporate Compliance area with responsibility for Consumer Affairs and recently additional responsibilities for Compliance Operations.
Prior to joining Travelers in 1999, Jim worked at the District Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia and practiced law in Massachusetts with a focus on insurance defense, coverage advice and litigation.
Before joining Corporate Compliance, Jim held a variety of roles at Travelers, spending 19 years in Claim in field and Home Office roles including responsibility for auto severity/large loss oversight and 5 years in the Claim Regulatory Compliance group managing market conduct exams and regulatory activities for Claim.
Jim currently manages a team of 6 consultants in Consumer Affairs who facilitate the complaint handling and response process for all of the business groups across Travelers.
Jim graduated from Temple University in Philadelphia and is bar-admitted in Massachusetts and holds his MCM designation.
Jim resides with his wife Kelly and 4 daughters in North Grafton, MA
Lois Alexander, Market Regulations Manage II
National Association Manager of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC)
Lois Alexander is the Market Regulation Manager at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. She supports the Consumer Participation Board of Trustees, Consumer Liaison Committee, American Indian and Alaska Native Liaison Committee, Consumer Participation Program, Consumer Information Source, and NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator. Her staff supports the Producer Licensing Working Group, the Market Conduct Examinations Standards Working Group, the State Licensing Handbook, the Market Regulation Handbook, Antifraud Task Force and its working groups.
Lois is an insurance professional with over 30 years of experience, including compliance coordination, insurer responses to state regulator audits and market conduct examinations, underwriting, customer service, policy issuance, actuarial, and complaints. She held positions at a number of insurance companies before moving to the NAIC.
Lois has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix. She holds professional insurance designations of FLMI (Fellow, Life Office Management Institute); ACP (Associate Compliance Professional); HIA (Health Insurance Associate for Individual Health, Group Health and Long-Term Care Insurance),; MCM (Market Conduct Management); and CFE (Certified Fraud Examiner). Lois is currently serving on the Insurance Regulatory Examiners Society (IRES) Accreditation and Ethics Committee and the Retiree Designation Sub-Committee; The Association of Insurance Compliance Professionals (AICP) Education Committee; the Webinar Sub-Committee and the Designation Review Sub-Committee; and the Insurance Consumer Affairs Exchange (ICAE) Planning Committee and Executive Board.
Matthew J. Smith, ESQ.
Matthew Smith is the Executive Director of The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud based in Washington, D.C. He previously served as Director of Government Affairs & General Counsel. Mr. Smith joined The Coalition staff after retiring as President of Smith, Rolfes & Skavdahl Company, LPA. He founded the firm in 1989 which grew into a national practice providing insurance law services throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. Mr. Smith also served as Legal Advisor to The Coalition.
Originally from Dayton, Ohio, Mr. Smith is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music with a degree in Radio, TV and Film. While working his way through college and law school he served as Director of Marketing Communications for the Kings Island Theme Park Complex in Ohio and founded Smith-Kaufman Public Relations representing such companies as Wendy’s International, Hyatt Hotels and The Cincinnati Reds
Mr. Smith graduated from the Salmon P. Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University. He has been admitted to practice in both federal and state courts in Ohio, Florida, Kentucky, Michigan and Washington, D.C. as well as the United States Supreme Court.
He is a past President of the National Society of Professional Insurance Investigators, the Founding Chair of the Insurance Committee of the International Association of Arson Investigators, and a member of the Defense Research Institute, Claims and Litigation Management Alliance and numerous other insurance law related organizations. Mr. Smith is a frequent lecturer on insurance law matters throughout the United States.
Patrick K. Devlin, Vice President
Liberty Mutual Insurance
Report to Chief Compliance Officer, manage staff of attorneys and non-attorneys responsible for handling all state regulatory investigations enterprise wide, including product development, rate, rules, forms, underwriting, marketing, claims, distribution, finance, billings, licensing, privacy, cyber security and abandoned/unclaimed property practices.
Manage relationship between enterprise compliance (GC&E) and business compliance officers devoted to lines of business within US business units.
Manage team’s emphasis on proactive avoidance of regulatory examinations by working with teams devoted to consumer complaints (Presidential ServiceTeam) and with compliance teams who escalate emerging business issues prior to state intervention
Investigate, research, analyze, negotiate and draft confidentiality agreements, responses to inquiries and requests for information, reports, and orders. Recommend corrective actions and monitor activities to impacted businesses to ensure issues are addressed, tracked and validated for compliance; manage market conduct module within eGRC (IBM OpenPages).
Frequently interact with and present to all levels of organization, including executive management. Collaborate with all business and corporate departments including Presidential Service Team, Public Affairs, Corporate Internal Auditing. Assist with preparation of reports to Board of Directors, Audit and Risk Committees.
Ryan Blakeny, Deputy Director of Consumer Services
Mississippi Insurance Department
Ryan is the current Deputy Director of Consumer Services for the Mississippi Insurance Department. He served previously as the Life and Health Specialist for the Consumer Services Division. In addition, he served in MID’s Life and Health Actuarial Division and has developed an extensive working knowledge of laws, regulations, and department policies related to life, health, annuities, and rate filings. As our nation’s health care system experiences the most significant changes in decades, Ryan plays a key role in interpreting and implementing all market reforms associated with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. He serves MID directors, private industry professionals, and public consumers in understanding complex insurance issues and resolving conflicts regarding life and health topics.
Ryan’s experience in state government began as a Benefit Analyst for PERS, the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi, where he advised members on disability benefits, survivor payments, and retirement finances. His attention to numerical details combined with daily personal counseling provides an ideal foundation as he now liaisons among agency divisions to serve the citizens of Mississippi. Appointed by Commissioner Mike Chaney, Ryan also represents MID on the Mississippi Autism Advisory Committee and the Early Intervention Task Force.
A devoted Rebel fan, Ryan earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Mississippi followed by a Master of Health Sciences from the University of Mississippi Medical Center. His wife, Amy, also serves our state as a public educator in Brandon, and they are the parents of one daughter, Avery.
Trish Skahan
Trish Skahan has worked at the NAIC for 26 years with 10 of those years supporting SBS. Trish is a Product Owner on the SBS team with a focus on Market Regulation, Company, and Transaction manager. Prior to working with SBS, Trish has worked hard supporting NAIC Complaint Database System (CDS) and Market Analysis software. Trish lives in Olathe, Kansas with her husband and cherishes time with their granddaughters.
