John F. Finston is a former general counsel and deputy insurance commissioner for the State of California. He advises clients on insurance-related financial transactions, with a focus on highlighting and resolving insurance regulatory issues.
John represents reinsurance companies, insurance companies and insurance associations in mergers and acquisitions, transactional business restructuring, insolvency and regulatory matters. He has extensive experience in transactional matters and frequently advises corporate clients with respect to their rights against insurance company receivers and property/casualty insurance guaranty funds in the event of the insolvency of their insurers.
While serving as general counsel and deputy commissioner of the California Department of Insurance, John was deeply involved in policymaking and led the department’s legal branch, which involved supervision of more than 140 lawyers, legal assistants and staff. He was active in a number of state, national and international insurance regulatory matters, and under his leadership as general counsel, the department had many notable litigation victories on behalf of consumers.
John represented the department in interactions with many of the state’s largest insurer licensees, addressing compliance matters, developing new regulatory approaches and providing advice. He also played a key role in advising the commissioner on major health and other insurance mergers, insurance company insolvencies, guaranty association related matters, and a host of other insurance market, consumer protection and regulatory matters.
At the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), John was a nationally recognized leader on international insurance issues and reinsurance and receivership law and regulation and also actively participated in the negotiation of the Covered Agreement between the United States and the European Union and served as a technical advisor to the state insurance regulators participating in the negotiations.
