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Insurance Commissioner

Why does this race matter?

Wildfires and inflation have thrown California into an insurance crisis. For many, property insurance is hard to afford and  sometimes even harder to find. The ranks of homeowners who have signed up with the FAIR Plan, the state’s property insurer of last resort, have swelled beyond what the plan can handle. Prices have also risen sharply for health and auto insurance. Voters will decide who will be the insurance industry’s chief regulator.

Key Candidates

Ben Allen
Ben AllenState senatorDemocrat
Jane Kim
Jane KimFormer San Francisco supervisorDemocrat
 

Positions on Key Issues

Candidate summaries are based on interviews with the candidates, questionnaires, statements made at debates and public events, and past news coverage.

Following years of bad fires and steep inflation, California’s insurance companies drew back from the state or requested big rate hikes. What proposals do you have to balance affordability and availability in the insurance market?

Allen says he will seek to lower rates by reducing risk, working with local and state officials to design neighborhood-scale programs that make communities safer. He also plans to expand grants and financing to help home and business owners safeguard their properties from fire. Allen said he wants to modernize and speed up rate-setting and reviews. Allen supports efforts pushing fossil fuel companies to bear some cost for climate damages that drive up insurance prices
Kim says she would seek to negotiate with insurers to provide broad availability. To promote affordability, she'd push for transparency from companies about how premiums are being spent. Kim proposes a statewide affordable disaster insurance program, similar to systems in France and New Zealand, to stabilize coverage, prevent mass cancellations and invest in climate resiliency. Kim says she also supports guaranteed health insurance for every child in California

California’s FAIR Plan, which has seen a nearly 150% increase in the number of policies since 2022, is supposed to be the state’s insurer of last resort. But there are many complaints about the program, and it’s facing lawsuits over fire-related denials. What policies would you implement to remedy those issues?

Allen says the state must "transition FAIR customers back to the private market. To do so, we must build up our fire resilience as a state, especially in the highest-risk communities relying on the FAIR Plan. As commissioner, I will champion a statewide effort to educate and implement fire resistance and make sure private insurers reward that prevention."
Kim says she wants to reform the structure of the FAIR Plan to make it less secretive. Currently, she says, it's unclear who is on the governing board or what happens at meetings. "We should have direct insight into its financial data and how it calculates premiums, and make sure that consumers are getting treated fairly and quickly in the claims process," she says.

How would you help the state drive down risk from climate-fueled disasters?

Allen says he would use grants and other financing to help communities in the highest-risk areas retrofit their homes and create defensible space over the next five years
Kim says she wants the office to be an ally in "our larger climate justice movement to reduce our dependence on fossil fuel." She said she hopes to work with Cal Fire and counties to update building codes and invest in prevention. She would like the department to create a single risk map for the state "that all insurers use" instead of the current proprietary maps, helping consumers understand their risks and rates.

Is Commissioner Lara’s Sustainable Insurance Strategy working? Why or why not?

Allen says he believes the strategy is working in that it acknowledges that climate change is happening now. He says he supports continued development of a state catastrophe model, which will provide a benchmark to evaluate private models. But Allen says he's  concerned Lara's strategy has allowed insurers to get credit for covering high-risk areas that aren’t really high risk. He says he wants to hire more claim handlers for the department.
Kim says Lara correctly identified the critical issues plaguing the insurance system, but hasn't delivered the solution. "I agree with the goal, but there were so many loopholes, it actually led to the opposite of what its intended purpose was," she says.

Key Supporters

This list represents notable organizations and individuals who have taken a position on the ballot measure or candidate, or who are funding campaigns in support or opposition. This list is not exhaustive, and may be updated.

For Allen 

  • Monique Limon, California Senate president pro tem
  • Alex Padilla, U.S. senator
  • Robert Rivas, California Assembly speaker
  • Adam Schiff, U.S. senator
  • California Democratic Party

For Kim 

  • Malia Cohen, California state controller
  • Dolores Huerta, labor leader
  • Bernie Sanders, U.S. senator
  • California Teachers Association
  • SEIU California

Fundraising
Campaign finance data comes from the California Secretary of State’s office or the Federal Election Commission.

Updated at 10:30 AM PT on Oct 1, 2026
Source: California Secretary of State
Ben Allen:
$2.1m
Jane Kim:
$1.3m
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