About Kim Holland
Kim Holland was appointed by Governor Brad Henry in January 2005 to become the second woman to serve as Oklahoma’s Insurance Commissioner. Her commitment to the Governor and the people of Oklahoma is to reform the Insurance Department and make it responsive to the needs of consumers. During her tenure in office, she has lived up to that commitment.
Experience, honesty, hard work, and being true to her word – that’s how Commissioner Holland has restored the faith of Oklahomans in the integrity of the Insurance Commissioner and in the Insurance Department.
During her twenty-five year career in the insurance field, Commissioner Holland met with families and business people – often at milestones in their lives: opening a new business, celebrating a birth or mourning a death. She helped her customers evaluate risk and plan for their futures. And, as a businesswoman herself, Commissioner Holland knows first hand the challenges of affording adequate coverage for her firm and her employees.
Bringing this combined experience to bear – as an insurance professional and consumer - Commissioner Holland is dedicated to building an organization that is responsive to both. Under her leadership, the Insurance Department Consumer Hotline has been expanded and improved to respond to consumer inquires accurately and courteously. Special emphasis has been placed on helping our senior citizens with important Medicare decisions and our medical provider community with patient health related claims. Commissioner Holland is working to make the Oklahoma Insurance Department the organization to turn to first with insurance questions or problems.
Sadly, Oklahoma has one of the nation’s highest rates of individuals living without health insurance. Commissioner Holland is determined to help reduce health care costs and to ensure that everyone has access to affordable health insurance coverage. She recognizes that many of the uninsured are working Oklahomans whose employers do not provide coverage or who cannot afford to pay for coverage. Commissioner Holland was instrumental in the development of Oklahoma’s O-EPIC program, which pays part of the premiums for eligible employees of small businesses. She continues to play an active role in the promotion of this important program. Last fall, Commissioner Holland convened a Summit on the High Cost of Health Insurance, with a commitment to reform our health care system. This bi-partisan effort continues under her leadership, bringing together consumers, business leaders, health care providers, insurers and policymakers from across the state to develop strategies to insure all Oklahomans.
Insurance fraud is a significant contributor to the cost of insurance. When bad claims are paid – whether due to the actions of an insurance agent or a consumer – higher premiums result. Commissioner Holland has seen to it that the Oklahoma Insurance Department’s anti-fraud investigation team has more staff and greater law enforcement capabilities. In 2005, she oversaw the recovery of over $2.5 million on behalf of Oklahoma consumers. At her insistence, the Department has expanded their outreach efforts to educate consumers, particularly our seniors, about fraud prevention and identification.
In just a little over a year, Commissioner Holland has turned a department demoralized by mismanagement and scandal into a team dedicated to serving the citizens of Oklahoma with pride and honesty. From implementing tough internal ethics rules to improving continuing education opportunities for insurance agents to taking employees on the road for consumer listening sessions to cracking down on insurance companies who don’t play fair – as your Insurance Commissioner, Kim Holland has acted to bring a sense of accountability and responsibility to state government.
