Lawrence H. Mirel, Commissioner of
the District of Columbia Department of Insurance and Securities Regulation (DISR),
was appointed by Mayor Anthony A. Williams in July of 1999 and confirmed by the
Council of the District of Columbia in October of that year. Commissioner Mirel
directs the government agency responsible for enforcing all laws of the District
of Columbia relating to the conduct of the businesses of insurance and
securities in the jurisdiction. The agency has a budget of approximately $9
million a year and a staff of more than eighty. Under Commissioner Mirel’s
leadership the District has made a bid to become a major national and
international center for insurance and other kinds of financial services. A
strong legal and regulatory modernization program is underway, including a
state-of-the-art captive insurance law, which is geared toward the District’s
unique market as the nation’s capital and the home of thousands of trade and
non-profit associations. Since his appointment, Commissioner Mirel has focused on approving the efficiency of regulation in the District of Columbia to better protect its citizens. In 2000 DISR won reaccreditation from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). It also received the NAIC’s State Regulation 2000 Award for participating in all of the NAIC’s automated information systems. Over the past two years the Department has become completely computerized and now handles virtually all information electronically. It also has an excellent web site at www.disr.washingtondc.gov and has developed a substantial community education program. In 2000 DISR won the First Annual DC Labor-Management Partnership Council Award for its innovative labor-management practices.
Commissioner Mirel plays an active role in the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, serving as co-chair of the Improvements to State-Based Systems Working Group which seeks to create an integrated and responsive regulatory environment for insurers and insurance consumers, and as Vice Chair of the NAIC/Industry Liaison Committee. In addition, Commissioner Mirel serves on the NAIC’s International Insurance Relations Committee and the International Holocaust Commission Task Force, as well as the Coordinating with Federal Regulators Working Group. Since the events of September 11, 2001, Commissioner Mirel has joined the NAIC’s Catastrophe Insurance Working Group.
Before becoming Commissioner Mr. Mirel founded and was the executive director and general counsel of the District of Columbia Insurance Federation (DCIF), a state insurance trade association. Earlier he served as a Federal Government official with the Peace Corps and the Department of Labor and he worked on Capitol Hill as an aide to a U.S. Senator and to a Member of the House of Representatives. He has also been in the private practice of law and an Adjunct Professor of Law at George Washington University Law School and at American University School of Law. Mr. Mirel is a native of Connecticut and is a member of the Bars of the State of Connecticut and the District of Columbia. He is admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. He is a graduate of Oberlin College and the Columbia University Law School.
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