James J. Wrynn Appointed as New York State Insurance Department Superintendent

On August 14, 2009, Governor David A. Paterson appointed James J. Wrynn to serve as the new Superintendent of the New York State Insurance Department. Mr. Wrynn had been serving as the Executive Director of the New York State Insurance Fund since April of this year. Mr. Wrynn will succeed Eric Dinallo, who resigned July 3rd to become a visiting professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business.

Mr. Wrynn is a founding partner of MacKay, Wrynn & Brady LLP, where he litigated cases focused on insurance issues and claims on behalf of major companies, their policyholders, municipalities, and public authorities. Prior to that, Mr. Wrynn worked from 1982 to 1992 as a trial attorney with McCormick, Dunne & Foley, specializing in civil trials and appellate practice related to professional malpractice, subrogation, property and casualty coverage disputes, liabilities and insurance. His professional career has provided considerable experience in the areas of insurance, accounting and tax issues.

Mr. Wrynn is admitted to the federal and state courts in both New York and New Jersey, and the United State Supreme Court. He has received an Associates in Risk Management and an Associates in Captive Insurance. He is a member of the New York and New Jersey state bar associations, has served on the New York City Economic Development Corporation and is an active participant in his community. A life-long resident of Queens, Mr. Wrynn is a graduate of is a graduate of Holy Cross High School, St. John’s University College of Business Administration and St. John’s University School of Law. He is married and has three children.

In a May interview with the Times Albany Union after accepting the State Insurance Fund position, Mr. Wrynn said, “I love insurance.”

“I've been involved in politics for a long time; I know a lot of these people around the state personally,” he said in the interview. “This is something I want to do to give back.”

On his departure from the New York State Insurance Fund, Mr. Wrynn stated:

"My leaving is bittersweet. While I enjoyed my time at the Fund tremendously, I look forward to working with the talented people at the Insurance Department on the many challenging issues affecting the broader insurance industry in New York. I am eager to begin work at one of the nation’s leading insurance regulators. I promise to focus my efforts on ensuring that individuals and businesses have access to the insurance products they need at reasonable prices. I thank Governor Paterson for placing his trust in me."

Gov. Paterson called Mr. Wrynn “an experienced insurance lawyer with expansive involvement in government.”

Effective August 20, 2009, Mr. Wrynn will begin to serve as Superintendent-designate and assume the permanent appointment pending Senate confirmation.