Insurance Commissioner, South Carolina
Ray Farmer was appointed by Governor Nikki Haley to serve as Director for the South Carolina Department of Insurance November 13, 2012. With more than forty years’ experience, Mr. Farmer received his degree in Insurance from the University of Southern Mississippi and earned his law degree from Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School.
Mr. Farmer served as the Deputy Insurance Commissioner of the Enforcement Division for the Georgia Department of Insurance and more recently Vice President for the American Insurance Association. As a part of his service, Mr. Farmer has served for over thirty years on the Board of Directors of the Georgia Arson Control Program, an organization aiding fire fighters and prosecutors combating arson. Mr. Farmer is a member of the State Bar of Georgia and a member of the Tort and Insurance Practice section as well as the Workers’ Compensation section.
In 2012, Mr. Farmer was awarded the Herman Hass Award by the Independent Insurance Agents of Georgia for service to the insurance industry. Also in 2012, he received a Presidential Citation for Outstanding Service to the insurance industry from the Professional Insurance Agents of Georgia and then in 2014 was named the Industry Person of the Year from the Independent Agents and Brokers of South Carolina. Recently, Mr. Farmer received The Order of the Palmetto from Governor Haley, the state’s highest civilian honor awarded to citizens of South Carolina for extraordinary lifetime service and achievements of national or statewide significance.
Mr. Farmer is a native of Atlanta and he and his wife, Gayle, have two children and five grandchildren.