Schneider touts record in insurance race

Rep. Jasper Schneider, D-Fargo, is seeking the opportunity to serve the public in a new role as state insurance commissioner.

"I've got a track record as an attorney and as a legislator being on the side of people," he said.

Schneider is running against Republican incumbent Adam Hamm in the Nov. 4 election. The insurance commissioner is the head of the state Department of Insurance, a regulatory agency comprised of about 45 employees, the North Dakota state government Web site states.

Some department employees are devoted to insurance regulation, while others perform functions assigned to the department by the legislative assembly. All fees and fines paid by companies or agents are deposited into the Insurance Regulatory Trust Fund, from which the money to operate the insurance department is appropriated by the Legislature, the Web site stated.

Schneider, 29, is an attorney who is part of a family law firm that was started by his father, John Schneider. It's now run by Jasper Schneider and his uncles, Mark and Steve.

As an attorney, Jasper Schneider said he has represented people who often get the shaft, including injured workers who struggle to obtain workman's compensation and affordable insurance.

And he's carried his passion for protecting consumers to the House of Representatives, where he's sponsored bills to assist such people. He sponsored House Bill 1517, which allows the North Dakota Workforce Safety and Insurance to share information with an injured worker's insurance provider. This allows claims to be processed faster so injured workers can more quickly receive the benefits to which they are entitled. It also helps lower health care premiums by allowing health care providers to be put on notice when WSI accepts liability on a claim it previously denied, Schneider's campaign Web site states.

Schneider also is concerned that about 15,000 children in the state aren't covered by health insurance.

"As we all know, kids get sick," he said.

Schneider added if children aren't taken to the doctor when they're sick, they could develop chronic health conditions. During the 2007 legislative session, Schneider sponsored House Bill 1047 to increase access to health care for North Dakota children.

The bill would have increased access to the State Children's Health Insurance Program so more working families could afford health insurance for their children.

The last legislative session ended with $350 million, and there was a huge surplus.

"We left that money in Bismarck; to me, that's irresponsible. My plan would have cost $3 million, and would have had $9 million matching from federal funds for a total of $12 million to cover children without health insurance," he said.

Schneider said his experience as an advocate makes him the better candidate for insurance commissioner. Standing up for consumers, representing injured workers and working to reform WSI are things he's done, not just talked about doing, he said.

"Whether it's sitting at my law desk in Fargo or my legislative seat in Bismarck, I have a history of advocacy and fighting for North Dakotans," he said.

This election gives people the opportunity to choose their insurance commissioner, he said. Hamm was appointed to his position last year to succeed Jim Poolman.

Schneider is a graduate of Fargo South High School, majored in criminal justice at Jamestown College and pursued a legal education at Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul.

He and wife Kimberlee have a son and are expecting a daughter in February. They live in Fargo.