 Neal T. Gooch Commissioner |
Utah Utah Insurance Department |
Governor Gary R. Herbert appointed Neal T. Gooch as Acting Commissioner of the Utah Insurance Department on January 14, 2010. He was sworn in as the Utah Insurance Commissioner on May 24, 2010.
Neal T. Gooch is a native of Southeastern Idaho. He attended high school and college in Arizona. He graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. After graduating from ASU in June 1971, he worked in Washington, D.C. for Bailey Deardourff and Associates, a respected political advertising firm.
While in Washington, D.C., Mr. Gooch received his Juris Doctor Degree from the Potomac School of Law. After graduating from law school, Mr. Gooch passed the bar examinations in Georgia and Utah and relocated to Utah to begin his legal career.
Mr. Gooch was appointed as an Assistant Attorney General on February 22, 1982 and worked for the Attorney General until August 1997.
While serving in the Attorney General’s office, Mr. Gooch was general counsel to the Division of Consumer Protection, general counsel to the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, and counsel to various state agencies in regard to personnel matters. He was general counsel to the Utah Insurance Commissioner from 1986 to August 1997.
In August 1997, Mr. Gooch was appointed by Commissioner Merwin U. Stewart as Deputy Insurance Commissioner and in January 2005 was asked by Commissioner D. Kent Michie to continue serving as Deputy Insurance Commissioner.
Commissioner Gooch is married to Terry Bailey Gooch. They are the parents of three children and grandparents to four grandchildren. Neal and Terry reside in the Val Verda area of Bountiful, Utah.