Insurance Commissioner Lara announces statewide appointments to advance consumer protection mission

News: 2022 Press Release

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara today announced five reappointments to the California Organized Investment Network (COIN) Advisory Board and one reappointment to the California Automobile Assigned Risk Plan (CAARP) Advisory Committee.

“Protecting consumers and addressing inequality are top priorities for our Department,” said Commissioner Lara. “I am confident these appointees will fulfill their ongoing charge to provide their advice and diverse perspectives to continue building a competitive insurance industry in California that best serves consumers.”

The California Organized Investment Network (COIN) was established in 1996 within the Department of Insurance to guide insurers on making financially sound investments that yield environmental benefits throughout California and social benefits within the state’s underserved communities. Commissioner Lara has prioritized COIN investments which drive affordable housing, support small businesses during this pandemic, combat climate change, and encourage investors to utilize diverse investment managers. The COIN Advisory Board provides guidance to the Commissioner and the COIN program to meet its mission and chief priorities.

The California State Legislature created CAARP to provide auto insurance for motorists unable to obtain coverage in the private market due to their driving records or other extraordinary circumstances. One program within the plan -- the California Low Cost Auto Program -- aims to provide affordable liability insurance to income-eligible good drivers, by assigning them to private insurers based upon the companies’ share of the auto insurance market. The CAARP Advisory Committee provides policy advice to Commissioner Lara on matters affecting the operation of its programs.

The next CAARP Advisory Committee meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 24, 2022 and the next COIN Advisory Board meeting will be held on Thursday, August 11, 2022. More details are available at: www.insurance.ca.gov/boards. CAARP Advisory Committee members receive $250 per meeting and the COIN Advisory Board positions are uncompensated.

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Media Notes:

Newly appointed members:

COIN Advisory Board:

Ophir Bruck is a Senior Director and ESG specialist at S&P Global Sustainable1, S&P Global's central source for sustainability intelligence. Prior to his current role, Bruck led signatory relations and strategic initiatives in western North America for the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), the world’s leading proponent of responsible investment. Bruck has been reappointed to the COIN Advisory Board as a representative with experience seeking investments that provide environmental benefits, with a term ending on July 12, 2024.

Stephanie Chan is Chief Investment Officer at the State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF) where she is responsible for managing SCIF's $20 billion investment portfolio as well as the Treasury and Investment operations. In 2019, she received her credential as a Chartered Financial Analyst, the highest distinction in the investment management profession. Prior to working at SCIF, Chan had several years of public accounting and auditing experience working at the California Bureau of State Audits as Senior Auditor. Chan has been reappointed to the COIN Advisory Board as an insurance investment executive, with a term ending on July 12, 2024.

Ginger Hitzke is President of Hitzke Development Corporation. Hitzke has 25 years of experience in the field of economic development and specializes in affordable rental housing, including permanent supportive housing on infill, transit-oriented sites. In addition to building and operating her real estate portfolio, she is an advocate for greater tenant protections and anti-eviction policies. Hitzke has been reappointed to the COIN Advisory Board as an economic development practitioner, with a term ending on July 12, 2024.

Jennifer McElyea is a Founder and Managing Partner of Ethos Real Estate, an investment firm that is reimagining the relationship between housing, communities and capital. McElyea has been reappointed to the COIN Advisory Board as an affordable housing practitioner, with a term ending on July 12, 2024.

Thomas Connell (McElyea) Wilson III is Chief Investment Officer of Napa-based The Doctors Company (T.C.) Group, the nation’s largest physician-owned provider of medical malpractice insurance, claims and risk management services, and innovative healthcare practice solutions. Wilson directly oversees the company’s $6 billion investment portfolio, is chair of the 401k Committee, and Treasurer of the TDC Foundation. As a mission-based company, TDC Group has been a longtime advocate for COIN. Under Wilson’s leadership, TDC has formally adopted a policy that requires the company to allocate at least 1% of its total invested assets in COIN-qualified strategies. Wilson has been reappointed to the COIN Advisory Board as an insurance investment executive, with a term ending on July 12, 2024.

TDC Advisory Committee:

Nona CAARP Miranda is owner and operator of a State Farm Insurance agency for the last 13 years in Claremont. Tirre Miranda is the recipient of the State Farm Top 100 New Agents within the United States, the Woman of the Year award by then-State Assemblywoman Norma Torres in 2012, and the Small Business of the Year award by then-State Senator Gloria Tirre Negrete in 2011. She serves as Treasurer of the Claremont Rotary Board of Directors and is a former board member of the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA). McLeod Miranda has been reappointed to the Tirre Advisory Committee in the producer representative seat, with a term ending on July 12, 2023.