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Louisiana Citizens committee recommends hiring new CEO for $240,000 a year

Published: Monday, July 26, 2010, 1:50 PM     Updated: Monday, July 26, 2010, 1:52 PM

Ed Anderson, The Times-Picayune

BATON ROUGE -- A committee of the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. today went along with a recommendation that a Michigan insurance executive be hired as its next chief executive officer for $240,000 a year.

Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon presented Robertson to the committee, telling them that his candidate for the job has cut the number of policies in the Michigan Basic Property Insurance Association, that's state's Citizens-like insurer of last resort from 240,000 to about 30,000 in the 20 years he has been there.

There are now about 128,000 policies in Citizens. Robertson told the panel that he would like to reduce that number, but did not specify a goal.

Denise Brignac, who chairs the Citizens board, said that besides the $240,000 a year salary, the committee also approved $2,000 a month in living expenses and five weeks of leave time a year as part of Robertson's compensation package.

Wortman, who has been with Citizens since 2007, is now making about $254,000 a year, as well as a $1,500 a-month living expenses, Brignac said. He gets the equivalent of three weeks time off.

Wortman told Donelon last November that he wanted to retire and Donelon began a search for a replacement then.

Wortman said he will work with Robertson during a transition period. Robertson said  he hoped to be in Louisiana no later than Oct. 1, possibly by the middle of September.

He said although he has officially retired from the Michigan Basic plan, he is working as a consultant and has to give his superiors 60 days' notice so they can find a replacement.

A total of 16 individuals applied for Wortman's job, and Donelon winnowed the list of candidates down to five finalists.

He offered the job two weeks ago to Charles Angell, a top official in the Alabama Department of Insurance, and Angell accepted it,  but a few days later he turned down the offer, citing personal reasons for staying in Alabama