D. Joseph Olson was a member of the Board of Directors of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Olson co-founded the Mackinac Center and served as chairman for most of its history through the end of 2012. He retired from Amerisure.
Olson received his J.D. from Santa Clara University in 1975 after being employed in the underwriting departments of The Insurance Company of North America and Allstate Insurance Company for 10 years. He worked in the legal department of United Services Automobile Association until becoming Vice President and General Counsel of Citizens Insurance Company of America in 1979. Olson was appointed Michigan Commissioner of Insurance by Governor John Engler in mid-1995. In 1997, he joined the Amerisure Insurance Companies as Senior Vice President & General Counsel, and assumed the position in 2001 of Senior Vice President & Counsel – Government Relations. Amerisure is a commercial lines group writing midmarket accounts primarily in the Midwest and South.
Olson was inducted into the Michigan Insurance Hall of Fame in August 2011.
