The Iowa Department of Insurance and Financial Services appoints Julie Pearce as acting deputy insurance commissioner for market regulation. Pearce brings more than 19 years of insurance and financial services experience across life, annuity and property and casualty lines. She has served as a holding company specialist at the Insurance Division since 2024, overseeing strategy and risk management for an internationally active insurance group, with focus areas including cross-border reinsurance, group capital calculation, corporate governance, artificial intelligence systems evaluation, financial performance and own risk and solvency assessment reporting. Pearce also led work on the Property and Casualty Personal Lines Task Force, coordinating recommendations on social inflation, natural disasters and elevated claims activity. Jared Kirby transitions to senior adviser to the commissioner, focusing on special projects and strategic initiatives for the department. Before joining the department, Pearce worked in financial services for more than 15 years, most recently at Wellabe, formerly American Enterprise Group, as vice president and chief business development and transformation officer. She held management roles before that at Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Company of Iowa and at Ernst & Young. She co-chaired the 2025 and 2026 Global Insurance Symposiums, presents on emerging technologies including agentic artificial intelligence supervision, and mentors for the Global Insurance Accelerator. Doug Ommen, Iowa insurance commissioner, says: "Julie's deep industry experience, strong financial background, and proven track record in regulatory oversight and innovation make her an exceptional fit for this role. Her expertise will be instrumental as we continue to maintain fair, competitive, and well-regulated insurance markets for all Iowans."
