March 16, 2010 Fundraiser for NC Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin

You are cordially invited to NC Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin's 2010 Queen City fundraiser in Charlotte! Essential information appears below, including sponsorship opportunities, how to contribute online or by mail, etc.

March 16, 2010

University Hilton

8629 JM Keynes Drive

Charlotte

5:30-7:30 pm

General Admission: $100/person

Sponsor levels: $250, $500, $2000, $4000

Sponsors will be identified at all future Goodwin events across NC in 2010 and 2011. Contributions are accepted securely online via our Paypal "Donate" link here at the official website, www.waynegoodwin.org ... or you may mail your personal or PAC check to: The Goodwin Committee, P.O. Box 27841, Raleigh NC 27611.

Thank you for supporting Wayne's campaign!

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Contributions from NC registered lobbyists or corporations are prohibited. Any solicitation to any lobbyist or prohibited donor is unintentional, and is to be disregarded. PAC contributions are prohibited during the legislative session, which begins in May 2010. No government resources have been used in the development of or transmission of this email message and attachment. The Goodwin Committee is responsible for all content.

State Fire Marshal Predicts (Sort of) Winner of Powerball Lottery

Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin - who also serves as State Fire Marshal - delivered morning remarks to an audience of fire safety educators and firefighters in Asheville, North Carolina on Monday morning. Little did he know that those remarks would prove quite prophetic.

Given how early the breakfast meeting had begun, Commissioner Goodwin reflected on the good-sized crowd that had still chosen to show up.

But he then added:

"And if you know of someone who's missing from here or from work today here in Asheville, then there's a good chance that he or she has won the lottery." (paraphrase)

Later that afternoon, members of the Association and Asheville firefighters were all abuzz when the news broke: a retired Asheville firefighter had, in fact, won more than $141 million in the Powerball lottery and he'd just appeared at a press briefing in Raleigh with state lottery officials.

When Goodwin learned the news while en route from a Monroe luncheon speech and recalled his comment earlier in the day, he wondered: "Maybe I should have predicted two other unlikely events ... world peace, or, that the Chicago Cubs would finally win a World Series after 102 years!"

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P.S. If there is anyone who is deserving of a lottery prize, it is a firefighter. After all, these hometown heroes protect our families, our homes, and our businesses, very often as volunteers for many years.

NC Fire and Life Safety Educators Save Lives, Declares Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin

Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin delivered the early morning kick-off speech for the annual meeting of the North Carolina Fire and Life Safety Educators Association on Monday.

Appearing at the historic Grove Park Inn in Asheville, he heralded the successes in the past year by both the members of the association and his employees in the Office of State Fire Marshal.

Among his many points and facts were these two:

These professionals provided more than 15,000 hours of safety education in 2009 alone.

They installed 6,200 child car safety seats.

As for the Department of Insurance and its Office of State Fire Marshal division, Commissioner Goodwin reminded the packed crowd about the recent pyrotechnics legislation, the ban on toy (or novelty) cigarette lighters, and regulation of fire-safe cigarettes...

The association alternates its annual meetings between eastern, western and central North Carolina.

Insurance Commissioner Goodwin and State Regulation Protect Consumers

This article ran in yesterday's Enquirer-Journal in Monroe, North Carolina.

Of note are the following excerpts from Jason deBruyn's news coverage:

The N.C. Insurance Commissioner stopped in Union County Monday and said he wants to protect North Carolinians.

...[Wayne] Goodwin said he hears daily questions and concerns on health insurance and how legislation in Washington will affect people in North Carolina; Mondays meeting was on the same topic.

...“Cost, cost and cost.” Those were the top three concerns Goodwin said he hears from people. Beyond that, access to health care and consumer protections were high on the list as well.

“We want to make sure that there are no unintended consequences,” Goodwin said. ...

One particular aspect Goodwin wants to make sure is worded precisely is allowing insurance companies to sell across state lines.

On the surface, giving consumers more options sounds like a good idea, he said. But shoppers who don’t read the fine print could be in for a rude awakening, he said.

Insurance plans in California are high on earthquake coverage, for example. A buyer in North Carolina might not need that. Also, not all states mandate coverage for diabetes or breast cancer. Rules and regulations that cross state lines could become blurred and tricky for a consumer to decipher."

State-based regulation, contrasted with federal preemption, is key to consumer protection as well, a point that North Carolina's insurance regulator shares with his peers in the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).

Insurance Commissioner Goodwin also declared how his independence as an elected official made him a greater and fiercer advocate for consumer protection than other types of regulators.

The insurance commissioner’s office is an independently elected position in North Carolina and Goodwin said that helps that official stay beholden to the voters and consumers, not anyone else, and keep the voters best interest in mind when making suggestions about any legislation.

Groundhog Doesn't See GOP Shadow, Dems Elated

Today, February 2nd, is traditionally Groundhogs Day.

Though Democrats have had a lot to be nervous about over the last few months – including the loss of the Kennedy seat in the U.S. Senate and two governorships - a partisan Punxsutawny Phil and Democratic Donkeys should see yesterday’s item from Politico.com and Gallup instead of their shadow. (After all, even groundhogs and donkeys have Internet access these days!)

Entitled “Poll: Most States Remain Blue,” Andy Barr’s column goes to prove that things aren’t necessarily as bad as they seem in 2010 for the Democratic Party.

In sum, it says that America remains in the Democratic camp nationally. Those findings are based on state-by-state polling statistics that involve a poll universe of 353,849 adults in all 50 states last year and the District of Columbia.

For Punxsutawny Phil, Democrats and progressive unaffiliated Americans, it sure beats another six weeks – or ten months – or two years – of a Republican winter!
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(c) Wayne Goodwin. All rights reserved.