By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Dennis Anderson, a Democrat from Overland Park, is one of several candidates for Kansas insurance commissioner. Republican incumbent Sandy Praeger is not running for re-election.

Anderson, who is from Smith Center, started an insurance education business with his parents and sisters in 1979. The business focuses on training insurance providers for licensing exams and to meet continuing education requirements.

The insurance industry is highly regulated, and it should be, said Anderson. He wants to make sure the state insurance department has “qualified” employees:

“You can’t second-guess what goes on in someone else’s job, but I hear of slow approval rates,” Anderson said.

“I also hear that a significant number of employees are of retirement age. These people have backgrounds in law, accounting, statistics and actuarial science. KDI employees need some specialized training.

“I think the first issue the department has is a need to visit with each employee, find out what their role is and what the workflow is, then determine if we’re staffed correctly.  How do we attract good employees to the state insurance department and how do we retain good employees?” Anderson said.

The Kansas Insurance Office is responsible for regulating insurance compliance, educating and protecting consumers, and overseeing insurance agents.

Anderson is the sole Democratic candidate.

The primary election is Tuesday. Polls in Hays are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.  Check Hays Post for results.