Georgia has a new, if perhaps temporary, insurance commissioner to fill the spot left vacant when Commissioner Jim Beck stepped aside after he was indicted last month.

John King

Gov. Brian Kemp this week appointed a former police chief, John King, to the post, saying he wanted someone who could restore public trust in the Department of Insurance after Beck was named in 38 counts of insurance fraud, according to an Atlanta news report.

Beck was elected last November but was indicted in May on charges that he siphoned money from a last-resort property insurance company he established to help flood-prone homeowners.

King, a native of Mexico, was police chief in Doraville, Georgia; a police officer and detective in Atlanta; and a National Guardsman who was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. He has no insurance experience.

“My decades of experience in law enforcement have prepared me for this important job in state government,” King said in a statement. “I look forward to restoring trust in the Department of Insurance and providing leadership that protects consumers, promotes public safety, and provides a bright and promising future for all Georgians.”

Kemp said King has sharp administrative skills.

“No. 1, we have to have a person of very high integrity in the current situation we are in, and we need somebody that can lead a large organization, that is organized, who can restore trust,” Kemp told reporters at a Capitol press conference. “I think John King has an impeccable record of service in the military, as a police chief, of doing that.”

King, who this week was in Texas leading hurricane preparedness training, is expected to run for the insurance commissioner post in a special election in 2020 or for a full term in 2022, the newspaper reported.