Taft is pleased to announce that the former, and most recent, Commissioner for the Indiana Department of Insurance (IDOI), Amy L. Beard, has joined the firm. She will serve as senior counsel leading Taft’s insurance regulatory practice.

Beard has spent much of her career in public service, developing extensive insurance and regulatory experience while moving up through the ranks of the IDOI. She joined the IDOI as an attorney within its legal division. She later became Chief Deputy Commissioner and General Counsel for the Department. In that role, Beard advised the IDOI on all major insurance regulatory matters, including acquisitions and mergers of domestic insurance companies, health care reform, regulatory practices, insurance policy form and rate filings, insurance company compliance, insurance company formation and licensing, and insurance holding company filings. Ultimately, in 2021, Beard was appointed by Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb to serve as the Commissioner of the IDOI, and she served in that position until October 15, 2024, when she resigned to join Taft. Prior to her appointment as Insurance Commissioner, Beard served in the Governor’s Office as Health Care and Insurance Operations Director.

Prior to joining Taft, Beard was appointed to the Federal Advisory Committee on Insurance (FACI), which provides guidance to the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) within the U.S. Department of the Treasury on matters related to the insurance industry. She was previously appointed by Governor Holcomb to serve as advisory member of the Legal and Insurance Advisory Council to the Indiana Executive Council on Cybersecurity. In her role as Insurance Commissioner, she was a member of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), holding several leadership positions, including Chair of the Privacy Protections (H) Working Group and Vice-Chair of the Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (H) Working Group, and served as a member of the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission (IIPRC). She holds the designation of Associate Professional in Insurance Regulation (APIR).

“Taft’s sophisticated platform, depth of experience, strong reputation, and collaborative culture are what drew me to the firm. During the next chapter of my career, I look forward to working with the talented team at Taft as I continue to focus on insurance-related needs for clients in Indiana and beyond,” said Beard.

Taft’s Chairman and Managing Partner Robert J. Hicks said, “I’m very pleased to welcome Amy to our team. It is a rare privilege to attract a sitting, and now former, state insurance commissioner to lead our insurance regulatory practice in serving Taft’s clients. Her deep insurance and regulatory experience in Indiana as the former state insurance commissioner and general counsel, together with her breadth of knowledge and acumen in the substantive insurance area overall, are unique assets that will bring significant value to our clients. We’re honored to have the opportunity to work alongside her across the firm.”

Kyle Hupfer, a Taft partner who formerly served as chairman of the Indiana Republican Party, General Counsel of the Republican National Committee, and Director of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (serving under then Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels), said “Amy is a tremendous talent and is well known and highly respected nationally among state insurance commissioners. She brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, and practicality to Taft in serving its clients in their insurance regulatory and related needs.”