Goodwin Appoints New Members to FAIR, Beach Plan Boards: First African-American Female, First Native American and Lumbee Join Board

Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin announced his appointment of five new members to the N.C. Joint Underwriting Association and the N.C. Insurance Underwriting Association, better known as the FAIR and Beach plans, respectively.

"I’m proud to announce the new appointees to the FAIR and Beach plan boards, and to bring a new level of diversity and expertise to each board,” said Commissioner Goodwin. “I’m confident that both the new and the existing board members will serve the citizens of North Carolina well and provide new perspective.”

Goodwin was especially pleased to accomplish several firsts with these appointments: Melanie Cook of Wilmington, Executive Director of Coastal Carolina Tomorrow, is the first African-American; Lumbee Tribal Chairman Jimmy Goins of Red Springs is the first Native American. Joining them are members who are also the most geographically diverse in many years. These are Goodwin’s first appointees since election last year.

The other new appointees of the Commissioner are: UNC Law School Professor Donald Hornstein, and insurance agents Rod Evans, Richard Heckle, and Murray White, III.

Learn more about all five appointees here at this link.

The Commissioner of Insurance is responsible for naming seven public members for each 14-member board; the insurance industry names the remaining seven members on each board. Of the seven appointees by the Commissioner, State law requires that four of them be insurance agents.

The FAIR and Beach Plans provide property insurance to North Carolinians who are not able to purchase it through traditional insurance markets. The FAIR Plan provides coverage in the coastal areas and the western 82 counties, and the Beach Plan covers 18 coastal counties and barrier islands. The members of one board are alternates with the other board. The General Assembly, as was the case with many states back then, created these board 40 years ago.

During the recent legislative session the General Assembly re-named the Beach Plan and enacted wide-ranging reforms in House Bill 1305. Instead of "the Beach Plan," the organization or program is now to be known as the “Coastal Property Insurance Pool.”

The new Board members took their positions immediately after last week's annual meeting.