RALEIGH, N.C. – Gov. Beverly Perdue says Jim Long fought tirelessly for consumers over 24 years as North Carolina’s insurance commissioner.

Perdue spoke Thursday at a funeral service for Long at Raleigh’s Hayes Barton Baptist Church. He died Monday at age 68 after collapsing Jan. 21 from what his family said was a hemorrhagic stroke.

Long’s coffin was brought to the service on the back of a fire engine, a symbol of his dual role as state fire marshal.

Long’s successor as insurance commissioner told several hundred mourners that Long was like a father to him. Wayne Goodwin said Long’s life proved that politics can be a noble endeavor.

A second memorial service will be held Friday in Long’s hometown of Burlington.

From the Fayetteville Observer Editorial Page
If Jim Long, who died Feb. 2 at age 68, had chosen another line of work, he could have been a good judge. Or a good teacher, banker or accountant. Whatever his choice, he’d have given it his best effort.

Instead, Jim Long chose to be a friend to North Carolinians from all walks of life – not as a chest-thumping populist, but as a smart, clear-eyed and strong-willed advocate for insurance consumers, a category from which few of us are exempt.
 
Advocacy wasn’t something he picked up on the fly. Long practiced law before representing Alamance County in the state House of Representatives. But it was during his six-term service as state Insurance Commissioner that he really showed his mettle.
 
On day one, he had not only the duties of the office (and those of state fire marshal) to perform; he had a mess to clean up. His predecessor, bombastic and forever eyeing some higher office, had been more successful at self-promotion than at taking care of business.

Long was political to the bone, a lifelong Democrat and down-home campaigner. But he could park his party affiliation at the door, along with whatever aspirations to higher office he may have entertained, when it was time to ride herd on insurance companies large and small. He didn’t gouge them – would in fact take care to give them room to turn a respectable profit – but they weren’t going to gouge the consumer on his watch.
  
His political instincts served him well. He didn’t harangue. When auto insurers pushed for big rate increases, Long would call for rate cuts in order to push the debate back into a manageable range. Not that he was bluffing: He went to court when negotiations failed, and he usually won. When Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina tried to change its nonprofit status, Long was part of the vocal opposition.

Despite his close scrutiny and their sometimes-adversarial relationship, a Blue Cross official reacted to Long’s death by calling him what he was: “a committed, hard-working commissioner who had a strong focus on what he thought was best for North Carolina consumers.”

RALEIGH, N.C. – A condolence book will be available for North Carolinians to sign in memory of former Insurance Commissioner Jim Long, who was elected in 1984 and served five more terms.  Citizens can sign the book at the State Capitol Rotunda through the close of business on Friday, Feb. 6. 

On Monday, Feb. 2 after former Commissioner Long passed away, Gov. Bev Perdue ordered all North Carolina state flags to be flown at half-staff in his honor. Flags will be flown at half-staff until sunset on Friday, Feb. 6.

RALEIGH, N.C.- The monthly meeting of the North Carolina Council of State has been overshadowed by the death of former Insurance Commissioner Jim Long.

Gov. Beverly Perdue opened Tuesday’s meeting with a moment of silence for Long, who died Monday at age 68. Long served 24 years on the council while he was commissioner, and he retired last month. Long suffered a stroke two weeks ago.

Attorney General Roy Cooper wore a red tie and Secretary of State Elaine Marshall a red scarf in memory of Long, who always wore a red tie in honor of his father.

Long’s death subdued an otherwise historic meeting. Six of the 10 council members are women following the November election. The female majority is a first for the state.

Former state Insurance Commissioner Jim Long died Monday, hospitals officials said, a month after ending his 24-year-run as the industry’s top regulator and less than two weeks after suffering a stroke before a legislative meeting. He was 68.

Long died at 2:52 p.m. at Rex Hospital in Raleigh, hospital spokeswoman Melody Hunter-Pillion said. His family said he had suffered a hemorrhagic stroke, which occurs when blood escapes from the arteries and floods into the brain, on Jan. 21.

“It is with heavy hearts that our family witnessed Jim’s passing today,” Long’s wife, Peg O’Connell, said in the hospital’s statement. “Jim loved this great state and its gracious people. He
was honored to serve them.”

Long, who liked to call himself the “oldest rat in the Democratic barn,” served six terms as insurance commissioner. He was the longest-serving member of the Council of State, a powerful panel of 10 statewide elected officials.

Like his father and grandfather before him, Long had represented Alamance County in the General Assembly – in the 1970s – and wore his trademark red tie as a tribute to his father, George. Long also served as the general counsel to then-House Speaker Liston Ramsey in the early 1980s before being elected inusrance commissioner in 1984. During his tenure, he was the public face in disputes between the state and the industry over automobile insurance rates.

Long decided not to run for re-election last year and endorsed chief deputy Wayne Goodwin, who ended up winning the general election.

“He was a mentor and friend to all of us, and we will miss him more than words can express,” Goodwin said in a prepared statement. “As our family grieves, we will try to find comfort knowing that through our work we can honor Commissioner Long’s legacy of serving the people of our state that he so loved.”

Long collapsed in the Legislative Office Building before attending the final meeting of a legislative committee studying how to be better prepared to pay claims resulting from a big hurricane.

In addition to his wife, Long is survived by two children and several grandchildren. Funeral arrangements were incomplete.

Attorney General Roy Cooper released this statement:

“Jim Long was a fighter for consumers. He committed his life to serving the people of North Carolina and our state is a better place because of his service.”

Funeral arrangements are pending.

RALEIGH, N.C. – The wife of former North Carolina insurance commissioner Jim Long says her husband is in a coma after suffering a stroke last week.

In a statement released Monday by Rex Hospital, Long’s wife Peg O’Connell said doctors hope he will regain consciousness soon.

Long was taken to the Raleigh hospital after he collapsed outside a legislator’s office last Wednesday. Doctors have said the 68-year-old Long suffered a hemorrhagic stroke, which occurs when blood escapes from the arteries and floods into the brain.

O’Connell said her family is touched by the expressions of support for her husband. The hospital said cards are welcome, but patients in intensive care can’t receive flowers and balloons.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Hospital officials say former state Insurance Commissioner Jim Long is in intensive care at a Raleigh hospital after suffering a serious stroke.

Rex Hospital spokeswoman Melody Hunter-Pillion said Friday that Long remains hospitalized after collapsing Wednesday afternoon outside a lawmaker’s office at the Legislative building. Current commissioner Wayne Goodwin said the 68-year-old Long could communicate as he was being treated by emergency crews.

In a statement released by the hospital, his wife, Peg O’Connell, said family members “are tremendously moved by the support” from so many people. She also thanked everyone for respecting their privacy.

Long is a Democrat who retired before last year’s election after serving as commissioner for 23 years.

RALEIGH, N.C. - North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Jim Long has bequeathed his title to Secretary of State Elaine Marshall – along with a hunk of cheese.

Long calls himself the “oldest rat in the barn” because he’s the longest serving Democratic member on the Council of State, a panel of top statewide elected officials. He didn’t run for re-election in November after 24 years in office.

At Tuesday’s council meeting, Long gave the title and a block of New York cheddar cheese to Marshall, who will become the panel’s longest serving member.

The “rat” refers to the last three letters in “Democrat.”

Marshall said her longevity is proof times are changing. She was the first woman on the panel when elected secretary in 1996. A majority on the council will be female next year.