R.J. Lehmann is senior fellow, editor-in-chief and co-founder of the R Street Institute. He is author of the R Street policy papers: Blurred Lines: Insurance challenges in the ride-sharing market, Government sources of systemic insurable risk, The value of conservation compliance to hunters and anglers, Reforming Michigan’s auto insurance market and Medical cost containment in the Wisconsin workers’ compensation market and co-author of Five principles for regulating the peer production economy. He also is the author the2012, 2013  and 2014 editions of R Street’s Insurance Regulation Report Card.

In addition, he authored the James Madison Institute’s Lasting reforms for Florida’s property insurance market and Ten reforms to fix Florida’s property insurance marketplace — without raising rates, co-authored James Madison’s Workable solutions for Florida’s challenging insurance problems and co-authored the John Locke Foundation’s Spotlight on NC’s auto insurance system: Seven things to understand.

Prior to joining R Street, he served as deputy director of the Heartland Institute’s Center on Finance, Insurance and Real Estate. He previously he was an award-winning business journalist who spent nine years covering the insurance, banking and securities industries, including as senior industry editor with SNL Financial, leading the news service’s coverage of the drafting of the Dodd-Frank Act, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and legislative and regulatory developments at both the state and federal level. Prior to that, he spent six years with the A.M. Best Co. as manager of their Washington bureau.

He is a three-time award winner from the American Society of Business Publication Editors and was the youngest-ever winner of a first place prize from the New Jersey Press Association. He also is the former public affairs director of the Independent Institute in Oakland, Calif., and the former state chapters coordinator of the Republican Liberty Caucus.

His writings have appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, Wall Street Journal, Roll Call, CQ, The Hill, Townhall.com, Reason, The American Spectator, Orlando Sentinel, Travel Weekly and Folio magazine, among other publications.

He lives in Gulfport, Fla. with his wife, Arin Greenwood, their dog, Murray Rothbark and their cat, Lady Galadriel.