Jefferson City, Mo. - The Missouri Department of Insurance announced that Chief Market Conduct Examiner Jim Mealer is the 2015 recipient of the Paul DeAngelo Memorial Teaching Award given by the Insurance Regulatory Examiners Society (IRES) Foundation.

"This award is reserved for the top insurance regulators in the country," said Department Director John M. Huff. "Market conduct activities provide important consumer protections and are essential to maintaining a competitive insurance market. Jim's knowledge and expertise in market conduct are a true asset to our department and our state. We are pleased he has received this national recognition."

The Paul L. DeAngelo Memorial Teaching Award in Recognition of Excellence in Insurance Education was created by the IRES Foundation and presented to the family of Mr. DeAngelo in 2001. The IRES Foundation bestows this award annually in memory of Mr. DeAngelo to honor an insurance regulator or former regulator who has distinguished himself/herself in the field of insurance education and training.

Mealer recently was elected to the IRES Board of Directors and holds the certified insurance examiner (CIE) and market conduct management (MCM) designations.  He has been a member of the organization for more than 20 years. He was part of the first MCM class conducted by the IRES and is a staunch supporter of continuing education. Mealer serves on the faculty at the IRES Foundation Market Conduct School and the IRES Career Development Seminar.

He became chief market conduct examiner for the department in 2009. Mealer was instrumental in the department obtaining a $7.8 million settlement with a leading health insurer in 2014. It is the largest settlement of a Missouri market conduct examination by the department. 

IRES was established in 1987 as a nonprofit organization of professional insurance regulators, who are dedicated to consumer protection. It works to enhance the efforts of insurance regulators by ensuring professionalism and integrity among the men and women who serve with state or federal insurance regulatory bodies.