Wayne Goodwin is a native of Hamlet, North Carolina. The son of a farmer and textile mill worker/elementary school teacher’s assistant, Wayne rose from humble beginnings to graduate first in his high school class and then graduate with honors and as a Morehead Scholar from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Later he graduated from UNC School of Law, and began his law practice.
While representing injured workers and helping families with insurance claims, voters elected him in 1996 as their State Representative in the General Assembly. For eight years Wayne fought for public education, economic development, public safety, clean water and air, election law improvements, and a healthcare bill of rights.
After four elected terms as a state legislator, he became the Assistant General Counsel and Assistant state Insurance Commissioner for four years. Voters in 2008 then elected Wayne as only the 10th state Insurance Commissioner in North Carolina since 1899.
Goodwin:
- Saved North Carolina consumers and families well over $2.4 Billion. One very specific example of his strong consumer protection record is when he ordered an insurance company to return $156 Million directly to 215,000 Tar Heel families. Goodwin’s decision made national news and resulted in President Obama inviting him for a personal meeting at the White House.
- Achieved the lowest average automobile insurance premiums in the country, and he successfully barred increases for three years.
- Rejected many insurance rate increases, and the courts upheld his outright rejection of a major homeowners’ insurance rate increase across the state.
- Assessed the largest fine in NC history against an insurance company that had inadvertently harmed many thousands of consumers, a multi-million-dollar fine that helped fund our public schools.
Voters re-elected him as Insurance Commissioner and he continued to grow a state Department of Insurance well-respected across the country.
After concluding two terms as Insurance Commissioner, Wayne started Seaboard Strategic Consulting, LLC. This being the fourth new, successful small business he had started, Wayne has traveled the country attending insurance regulatory conferences and consumer protection panels, learning about best practices and advocating for consumer protection and affordable, accessible insurance options, and has served on several boards of directors for businesses, relying on his experiences as a former public official, insurance regulator, lawyer, and businessperson.
He has also continued his activity on various civic and philanthropic endeavors.
Meanwhile, with the support of North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Wayne announced his intention in December 2016 to run for Chairman of the NC Democratic Party. He won his first term with a vote of 92% and the second term in 2019 with a vote of 100%.
Wayne has been married to former State Representative Melanie Wade Goodwin since 1998. They have two children, Madison and Jackson, and their pet dog, Coco. They are members of Edenton Street United Methodist Church.