Race For California Insurance Commissioner Too Close To Call

The race for California’s next top insurance regulator remained too close to call on Tuesday night, with former San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim enjoying a slight lead at 51.4% of the vote over state Sen. Ben Allen, as of 10:28 p.m.

Progressive activist Kim ran her campaign on a promise to overhaul California’s insurance system.

“We’re really excited about our early lead,” Kim said late Tuesday night. “There’s so many more votes to be counted, but our team is incredibly proud to have run, hopefully, one of the first progressive state-wide campaigns California has seen and the first of many more to come.”

Kim has advocated for a public-private insurance model, as a means to make disaster insurance more affordable for more Californians. She’s proposed a state fund, paid for by a surcharge on homeowners’ insurance policies.

The state would pay out up to the average cost of a home in California, with any additional claims covered by the policyholder’s private insurance. The idea would need approval from the legislature and governor. 

Kim secured endorsements from Bernie Sanders, the California Federation of Labor Unions and Malia Cohen, the California state controller.

Kim’s opponent Allen said he was motivated to run for the office after seeing first-hand wildfire survivors’ frustrations with the insurance industry.

Throughout the campaign, he touted his experience helping his constituents handle insurance matters in the wake of the devastating L.A. firestorm. Allen had to help his mother evacuate her home during the fires. 

Allen has said he will bring down insurance costs by reducing risk, working with local and state officials to make communities safer from fires. He’s also proposed making more public money available for home and business owners to get their properties ready for fire. Allen has also promised to modernize the Department of Insurance, hiring more staff and making it more responsive to citizen requests. 

While the race for insurance commissioner often flies under the radar, it earned significant attention this year, as wildfires and inflation have thrown California into an insurance crisis, with many residents struggling to obtain or afford insurance coverage. 

The commissioner is the chief regulator of the state’s $3 trillion insurance industry and holds considerable power over how companies process claims and set prices for coverage for properties, cars, life insurance and workers’ compensation. 

Two years ago, the Department of Insurance, under Ricardo Lara, rolled out the biggest regulatory reforms in a generation, known as the Sustainable Insurance Strategy. Industry experts say the changes have eased some pressure on the insurance market, but more action is needed to drive down risk, increase coverage options and limit price increases. 

Stanford University graduate journalism students Amina Wase, Colette Yamashita Holcomb and Omar Ceesay contributed to this report.