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Three insurance commissioner candidates, who’ve debated each other at least 10 times since the state’s Sept. 9 primaries, will face off for the last time in the Nov. 4 general election.
Democrat Karen Weldin Stewart is running against Independent Tom Savage and Republican John Brady.
Savage, who lost the Democratic nomination in the state primary with 18 percent of the vote, was endorsed by the Independent Party of Delaware and is now running on the Independent ticket.
Sussex County Recorder of Deeds Brady faced no Republican contender in the state primaries. Both Savage and Brady live near Lewes.
The insurance commission monitors the financial operations of 1,500 international and 150 domestic insurance providers in Delaware. The commission also helps resolve consumer and insurance company disputes and investigates insurance fraud. The insurance commissioner serves a four-year term and makes $105,350 a year.
Weldin Stewart
Wilmington resident Weldin Stewart, 60, ran a close second for insurance commissioner in the 2000 General Election, when she received 47 percent of the vote, losing to Republican incumbent Donna Lee Williams.
In 2004, she lost the Democratic nomination in the state primary to Matt Denn. This year, with Denn running for lieutenant governor, she captured 46 percent of the Democratic vote in the state primary.
“I’m running because the consumer is not being taken care of. The policy holders are powerless, and the department is eroded,” Weldin Stewart said. She says a single-payer program may be too costly for the state, but she supports extending poverty guidelines to allow more residents to receive healthcare coverage. She also says the insurance commissioner should have the authority to control insurance rates in Delaware.
From 1989 to 1993, Weldin Stewart was a deputy receiver for the state insurance department, where she managed 20 bankrupt or struggling insurance companies.
She’s also consulted for the state departments of Texas and Utah. Weldin Stewart is a board member and former president of the International Association of Insurance Receivers. Since 2006, Weldin Stewart has been an aide for Sen. Harris McDowell, D-Wilmington.
Brady
Brady, 49, who lives in the Angola area of Lewes, also says the insurance commission should have the authority to control insurance rates.
“The insurance commissioner can’t approve rates – that’s why insurance rates have skyrocketed,” Brady said.
Brady is also calling for a Sussex County insurance office. He said Kent and New Castle residents have the opportunity to visit offices in their counties to ask questions, file for arbitration and receive elder information that is badly needed in Sussex County. He does not support a single-payer program. Instead, Brady advocates for more competition, which he said would come from more providers. Still, he believes in regulating the industry to lower rates.
He also favors more health-insurance options including high-risk pools, small business pools and what he calls skinny health insurance policies – coverage for those from 21 to 30 years old, which includes a $2,000 deductible and a health-savings plan to cover employees in the retail and service industries.
“One of the goals of my campaign is to make sure every child has health insurance,” Brady said.
Brady is a former legal counselor for the state House. He is also a member of the Delaware and Sussex County bar associations and an active member of the Rehoboth Beach Sunrise Rotary Club. “It’s going to be a very close election,” Brady said.
Savage
Savage is a 79-year-old retired Wilmington deputy fire chief and former Prudential Insurance Co. agent. He said too many insurance forms and too many companies plague doctors. Savage, who lives in the Edgewater Estates development outside of Lewes, is the only candidate who calls for a single-payer health-insurance plan for all residents. He also said insurance companies make at least 40 percent profits and that insurance companies should be answering to the consumer, not the stockholder.
In 2004, Savage ran unsuccessfully for the state Senate, losing to incumbent Sen. Gary Simpson, R-Milford.
He said he is running as an Independent candidate to keep the single-payer health-care coverage message alive from the primary to the general election.
He said everyone in the state should be covered under one program – pre-existing health conditions aside.
“I feel if I get my story out right, I’ll win. Everybody should be under a single-payer health-care plan,” Savage said. He also said he’s disappointed with the Democratic Party, and he switched to run on Independent Party ticket before losing the Democratic nomination.
“The party endorsed Democratic candidates who didn’t win,” Savage said. He referred to Lt. Gov. John Carney, who narrowly lost the gubernatorial bid and Gene Reed, whom many thought was a shoo-in as the Democratic nominee. “That’s so much for the leadership of Delaware Democrats. That’s a shame. They had no business endorsing anybody before the primaries,” Savage said.
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