STATE: Insurance Commissioner – 2026 Primary Election

VOTER GUIDE – QUICK LINKS TO:

PAY ATTENTION TO THIS RACE!

Most normal people, frankly, will either skip this space on their ballot altogether, or use some version of “eenie, meenie, miny moe” to make their decision, and we can see why.

But because there is NOTHING NORMAL ABOUT THIS VOTER GUIDE – To get to a place of confidence with our endorsement, we consulted an expert on wild fires, stole an analysis of the ideal candidates from a source we respect, and then did a lot more research on wildfire management through forestry, which you can skip if that’s not your thing..

Our pick is right below – Ben Allen. Candidates are listed after the video of their debate.

Insurance Commissioner – Vote for (1)

Part of the answer for whom to vote for can be found in the trees…

(Calmatters) “With more California homeowners just discovering their insurance policies are getting canceled —  and hundreds of thousands of others stuck with a pricey option of last resort — state Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara’s efforts to fix the home insurance market can’t come quickly enough.”

(www.insurance.ca.gov) In 2024, “Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and Cal Poly Humboldt announced that they will form a strategy group to undertake the nation’s first public wildfire catastrophe model. The strategy group will draw from California’s research and higher education communities to make recommendations for a new, publicly accessible data source to predict future wildfire losses. This effort will support California’s goals of building safer communities and expanding access to insurance coverage…

…This strategy group’s mission is enabled by a new regulation that Commissioner Lara is currently finalizing that will allow insurance companies to utilize forecasting in the setting of insurance rates. The Department will hold a public hearing today at 10AM to take public input on the proposed catastrophe modeling and ratemaking regulation. The regulation specifies that models must calculate wildfire safety benefits, such as forest-management actions by state and local fire agencies and work by public and private utilities to reduce ignition sources – something not required under current rules. 

Totally gratuitous educational section. You can skip all this, down to the candidates, if you don’t want to know more about wildfire management.

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Q: So, is it the houses or the trees that are causing the most damage?
A: The houses.

OBSERVE: The town of Paradise, CA, BEFORE the Camp Fire in November 8th, 2018.

CONTRAST AND COMPARE: Town of Paradise AFTER the Camp Fire.

BELIEVE WHAT YOU SEE:

The trees look fine. The houses…not so much.
We noted this obvious fact in a post we wrote in 2021 with expert guidance from Dr. Chad Hanson of the John Muir Project: “While it seems intuitively obvious that reducing fuel by logging, clearing brush and cutting fire breaks would eliminate or minimize large fires, studies have shown differently. Taking timber from forests dramatically changes their structure, making them more vulnerable to brushfires. Examples like Australia’s Black Summer bushfires demonstrate that logged forests are also more likely to burn out of control. What remains true about the forest thinning solution is that it promotes more logging, more roads, more sediment flows into waterways, more reductions of wildlife habitat and more logging industry lobbyists wandering the halls of Congress.“

WHY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THIS ON A VOTER GUIDE, FOR GOODNESS SAKES?

Frankly, we hadn’t really grasped until now just how much power the Insurance Commissioner has in influencing forestry policies as part of dealing with the wildfire threat that’s spinning our state’s insurance prices out of control. So, still-not-being-experts, we sent this candidate questionnaire to Dr. Hanson for his analysis of their answers to the following question (highlights, etc, added by us):

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.
  • Bradford says the state needs stronger coordination between the state, local governments and insurance companies to incentivize and invest in home hardening and creating defensible space.
  • Farren says he would push for more aggressive forest and brush management and incentives for home hardening, “organized by the state and paid for through reductions in insurance costs demonstrated to consumers through clear guidance from the Department of Insurance and rate reductions required to be given by insurance companies.” Farren, who lost his home in Southern California’s 2025 Palisades Fire, would seek to set minimum standards for fire response in cities and counties.
  • Kim wants the office to be an ally in “our larger climate justice movement to reduce our dependence on fossil fuel.” 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.
  • Korsgaden says she’d recommend implementation of an emergency fire reduction plan through county Fire Safe Councils. She would advocate for removal of dead and stacked brush; expanded grazing and mechanical thinning; and fast-tracked logging and forest management. “I would demand real accountability from utilities and local governments that ignore basic safety,” she says.
  • Vargas says the insurance commissioner can fund home mitigation through taxes on billionaires and their companies, paired with outreach to high-risk communities and fully funded fire-resistance upgrades. Long term, he says, reducing climate-fueled disasters requires ending the climate crisis. He supports a rapid transition away from fossil fuels through coordinated government action, holding corporations accountable and requiring them to fund the infrastructure and energy transformation needed.
  • Wolff supports testing pilot programs allowing insurers to issue group homeowners’ insurance on a community basis, such as for HOAs, to motivate all residents in risk reduction. He’d also advocate for better land management, such as brush clearing and controlled burns and discounts for mitigation. (We also sent Dr. Hanson an expanded statement from him.)

DR. HANSON RESPONDED!: The language about home hardening [in Patrick Wolff’s expanded statement]–making homes much more fire resistant–is good. The language about controlled burns is a bit misplaced. It’s good he’s not pushing logging, and it is true that prescribed fires can reduce fire intensity somewhat when a wildfire occurs. However, prescribed fires or controlled burns have become in many cases euphemisms for logging projects and subsequent burning of logging slash piles–very damaging and deceptive. Also, controlled burns don’t stop wildfires, and reducing wildfire intensity doesn’t translate well to protecting homes (most homes burn from flying embers, not direct contact with flames, and the ones that do burn from direct contact with flames usually burn down from low-intensity fire, not high-intensity). It’s best to simply focus on helping to create fire-safe communities through home hardening, defensible space pruning, and evacuation planning and assistance (so that people and their animals get out safely). Allen and Bradford directly promote home hardening and defensible space pruning, which is good. Farren mentions home hardening but also promotes “aggressive” logging in forests, which would be counter-productive. Korsgaden just wants more logging. I’ve attached a fact sheet that could be of use.

Here are some of the highpoints of his report, which you read in full here.

  • Defensible space pruning within less than approximately 100 feet from homes was effective at protecting homes from wildfires, while vegetation management in remote wildlands was not. 
  • Vegetation management and removal beyond approximately 100 feet from homes provides no additional benefit in terms of protecting homes from wildfires. 
  • Younger forests with lower canopy cover, lower biomass, and intermediate densities of seedlings and saplings had the highest wildfire severity. Mature forests with higher canopy cover had lower fire severity 
  • Thinning followed by burning caused a massive fire that destroyed communities. Thinning reduced canopy cover, increasing growth of combustible grasses; associated pile burning caused a huge wildfire, spreading rapidly through thinned areas, burning many homes 
  • Areas that were salvage-logged and planted after the initial fire burned more severely than comparable unmanaged areas.”
  • Thinned forests “were burned more severely than neighboring areas where the fuels were not treated.”  
  • Timber harvest, through its effects on forest structure, local microclimate, and fuel accumulation, has increased fire severity more than any other recent human activity. Previous logging was associated with higher fire severity.

ANOTHER totally totally gratuitous section on the process of elimination of candidates!

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(cahighways) “The California Insurance Commissioner
(1) oversees and directs all functions of the Department of Insurance;
(2) licenses, regulates, and examines insurance companies;
(3) answers public questions and complaints regarding the insurance industry;
(4) enforces the laws of the California Insurance Code and adopts regulations to implement the laws;
(5) and enforces the department mission to ensure vibrant markets where insurers keep their promises and the health and economic security of individuals, families, and businesses are protected.
The position is especially important right now, with the ACA and Health Insurance marketplace issues.

But note that the FOCUS OF THE JOB IS INSURANCE. This is not a job that deals with things like homelessness or public safety. This is also one of those positions that does require a legal background, as well as the ability to deal with numbers (although a CPA is not required). Lastly, the position requires someone who is not too close to the Insurance industry.”

CONCLUSION

Having done the investigation of the candidate, the field narrows quite a bit.

  • Eric Aarnio can be dismissed out of hand.
  • Eduardo “Lalo” Vargas and Jane Kim want to blow up the system, and that’s not realistic.
  • Sean Lee, Robert P. Howell, and Merritt Farren really don’t have the experience or background for this job.
  • Keith Davis has the background, but doesn’t appear to have a detailed plan or to be working hard enough for it.
  • That leaves Ben Allen (D), Steven Bradford (D), Stacy Korsgaden (R), and Patrick Wolff (D).
  • I’m eliminating Korsgaden because she attended Jan 6th. She may abhor violence, but even attending that rally shows poor judgement.

That leaves Allen, Bradford, and Wolff.

  • Allen and Bradford are termed-out legislators who are turning their attentions to the Insurance Commissioner office.
  • Wolff is someone who knows the Insurance Industry by building his own brokerage, but who has no experience working with the legislature to achieve specific goals, or navigating the arcane halls of Sacramento to get things done.
  • Narrowing this down further, I think Allen knows more about the Insurance world and its regulation than Bradford, although I do like Bradford’s notion of equity in the availability of insurance, as that is a significant issue.

This leaves us with a decision between Allen and Wolff (the same decision the Chronicle faced).

  • For an effective Insurance Commissioner, which is more important:
    • The ability to work in Sacramento, to work with the legislature and the Governor
    • … or the ability to know how the Insurance Industry works from the inside.

I would tend to think the ability to work with Sacramento. However, to try to decide this, I decided to look into the funding.  

  • Ben Allen’s funding profile is interesting: Real Estate PACs, unions, teachers, nurses, lots of PACs, Fanduel (sports betting, for some odd reason), gambling organizations, tourist organizations.  
    • I had been leaning towards Allen until looking at the funding profile. Why are all these PACs supporting him, especially the gaming PACs? They are clearly expecting decisions to go their way. That feels off to me
  • Patrick Woff’s funding profile is different: Almost all individuals, with really no PAC funding and just a little entity funding.
  • For the hell of it, I looked at Bradford’s funding profile. Again, lots of construction and gaming PACs, with the top contributor being RJ Reynolds Tobacco? The funding profiles just make me uncomfortable.

I don’t think we would go wrong with Ben Allen, I think the better, more independent candidate, would be Patrick Wolff. (Indivisible Ventura – we’re putting in for Ben Allen!)

  • Calmatters) Who wants to be California’s insurance commissioner? Your guide to the candidates
  • (LA Times): Your guide to the California insurance commissioner’s race: Who will replace Ricardo Lara?
  • (Insurance Guide): California Insurance Commissioner Race Has Diverse Field Amid ‘Insurance Crisis’
  • (insurance.ca.gov) California FAIR Plan – FAIR Plan is a critical insurance option for California residents and businesses

READING:

(https://youtu.be/97nTcNHYbOM

GROUPS THAT COULDN’T MAKE UP THEIR MINDS!

CADEM

ENDORSED BEN ALLEN (D) – California State Senator

RECOMMENDATION: YES. Not only does he appear to be preternaturally huggable, he has a buttload of support from a wide variety of groups, including a lot of environmental and young Democrat groups. His solution of HARDENING homes was a point in his favor by the head of the John Muir Project.

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North valley dem
California Young Democrats
Adam
CA fed. of teachers

CANDIDATE STATEMENT: On January 7, 2025, the Palisades Fire erupted just miles from my home, tearing through a community I’ve represented in the State Senate for over a decade. Helping hundreds of constituents who lost everything successfully navigate insurance claims gave me a front-row seat to our broken insurance system. Standing amid smoke, ashes, and uncertainty, I saw what failure looks like. California must do better. That’s why I’m running for Insurance Commissioner: to protect consumers, safeguard the environment, and make government accountable to the people it serves. California needs leaders with the determination and track record to deliver results. I have a long track record of success working for the public interest: In the State Senate, I’ve taken on insurance industry lobbyists, passed some of the nation’s strongest consumer protection laws, and led efforts to invest $10 billion in wildfire prevention, water infrastructure improvements, and climate resilience. As Insurance Commissioner, my #1 priority will be putting consumers first. That means: Holding polluters accountable: I’ll make corporate polluters financially responsible for climate damages that drive up insurance costs. Fair treatment after disasters: I’ll protect consumers and require insurers to facilitate expedited, resilient rebuilding. Preventing future disasters: I’ll accelerate vegetation and forest management programs that reduce fire risk and lower your insurance costs. Free from industry influence: I’m refusing insurance industry campaign contributions. I’m honored to have support from leaders like U.S. Senator Adam Schiff, California Environmental Voters, California Professional Firefighters, and California Federation of Teachers. I hope to earn your support, too. benallenca.com

(Sacramento Bee) Housing prices in the state have played the central role in its loss of residents to other states for two decades, but insurance costs have not. Strict consumer protections since the late 1980s kept premiums down to among the lowest in the country. But increasingly devastating wildfires are unraveling one of the last bargains Californians have enjoyed. Over the last four years, carriers have retreated from the state entirely or have paused writing new policies. Rates have risen sharply across the Bay Area. Meanwhile, homeowners throughout the region – from rural Sonoma County to suburban San Jose – have been pushed into the FAIR Plan, the state’s high-risk pool offering expensive, limited coverage. Disconcertingly yet unsurprisingly, the prospect of rising premiums is sinking home sales. With the June 2 primary approaching, Bay Area voters must understand: When they choose among the dozen candidates to replace termed-out Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, the viability of homeownership is on the ballot.

cahighways) “Ben Allen represents the 24th Senate District, covering the Westside, Hollywood, South Bay, and Santa Monica Mountains communities of Los Angeles County. Ben was first elected in 2014 and is now serving his third term in the State Senate. Ben chairs the Senate’s Budget Subcommittee #2 (Resources, Environmental Protection, and Energy) and co-chairs the Legislature’s Environmental Caucus, is a member of the Legislative Jewish Caucus, chairs the Legislature’s Joint Committee on the Arts, and the Senate Select Committee on Aerospace and Defense. He previously served as Chair of the Environmental Quality Committee (2019-2024), Chair of the Education Committee (2017-2019) and Chair of the Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee (2015-2016). Prior to his election to the Senate, Ben served as President of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education, lecturer at UCLA Law School, and worked as an attorney at the law firms of Bryan Cave LLP and Richardson & Patel and at the nonprofit Spark Program. While at law school, Ben served as the voting student member of the University of California Board of Regents and was a summer judicial clerk with the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Prior to law school, Ben worked in Washington DC for the Latin American team of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), and then as Communications Director for Congressman Jose Serrano (D-NY). Ben has a Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude in History from Harvard University; a Master’s degree in Latin American Studies from the University of Cambridge; and a Juris Doctor degree from UC Berkeley.

Before I explore further, the one thing that strikes me about this biography is that there is precious little experience or interest related to insurance and insurance issues. Three terms in the State Senate means he is termed out. This strikes me less of a desire to be Insurance Commission, and more the desire to retire a position in Sacramento. However, according to the LA Times, he represents the Palisades fire zone and, since the blazes, has authored bills that provide tax relief to fire victims and raise payments for personal property losses.

He does appear to have an insurance related plan. His ideas are a lot of what was discussed in the CBS Governors Debate: modernizing rate-setting; faster rate reviews; community hardening; data driven resilience; and climate accountability. He wants to improve insurer compliance, increase transparency, and get people off the FAIR plan. All of these are good ideas.

According to Calmatters, he “would take a more comprehensive approach to risk reduction, including by creating funding sources such as state-backed loans for hardening homes, and by bringing together insurers, builders, local governments, firefighters and the state to work on solutions. As part of reducing risk, he wants to restrict new construction in high-risk zones, saying developers who are building in such areas are “basically freeloading off the rest of us.” He also wants to “carefully and sensitively” find a way to incentivize those already living in risky areas to move elsewhere.”

According to the Insurance Journal, Allen “believes California’s insurance system is at a crossroads. To restore a solvent, competitive marketplace while keeping rates fair and affordable, we must strike the right balance between protecting consumers and ensuring insurers can sustainably operate in the state. [He] will stabilize the insurance market by modernizing rate setting and streamlining rate review timelines so decisions are made within months, not years, [wanting] to keep insurers in California and be able to write policies people can afford.” In terms of immediate changes, he would expand our on-the-ground claims support during disasters. He would bring more predictability to the rate review process, resolving filings in months, not years, with clear timelines and consistent standards. He would also implement forward-looking catastrophe models, with transparency and strong oversight.

He has a significant number of endorsements, including unions, environmental groups, significant elected leaders (both Senators, both congresscritters that cover Northridge). He seems to be the favored Democratic candidate.

STEVEN CRAIG BRADFORD (D) – Education Organization Boardmember

RECOMMENDATION: NO, there are better candidates here.

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CANDIDATE STATEMENT: Steve Bradford is running for California Insurance Commissioner to restore stability, fairness, and affordability to California’s insurance marketplace. A former State Senator and public servant, Bradford brings decades of experience in government and policymaking to this critical role, including service on the State Legislature’s Insurance Committee where he helped build consensus on complex regulatory challenges. Bradford believes no Californian should face financial devastation after a manmade or natural disaster, and will work collaboratively with insurers, regulators, local governments, and consumers to stabilize markets, make insurance more affordable, and stop insurers from dropping Californians from being covered. Steve’s plan includes bringing transparency to insurance pricing, rewarding people who protect their homes, rebuilding the insurance market in high risk areas, and making rates make sense. Bradford will support safer moves for the most at-risk, modernize the Department of Insurance, and put equity front and center. Throughout his career, Bradford has fought for working families, equitable access to healthcare, economic opportunity, and consumer protection. He’s authored legislation to expand healthcare access, promote financial literacy, and protect communities statewide, and has a proven record of lifting up underserved Californians. That’s why Bradford is endorsed by grassroots Democrats, Teamsters, construction workers, and leaders like Secretary of State Shirley Weber, State Treasurer Fiona Ma, Congressman Adam Gray, Former State Senate President Toni Atkins—because they recognize his leadership, integrity, and relentless advocacy for accountability and an insurance market that works. By June 2nd, Vote Steve Bradford for Insurance Commissioner. Learn more at http://www.bradfordforcalifornia.com

cahighways) “Steven Craig Bradford served in the California State Senate from 2016 to 2024, representing the 35th district, encompassing parts of Los Angeles County. Prior to his tenure in the Senate, Bradford served in the California State Assembly and on the City Council in the City of Gardena. Throughout his tenure in the legislature, Bradford has served in a range of leadership positions, including as Chair of the Senate and Assembly Energy and Utilities Committee, Chair of the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee, Chair of the Senate Labor and the Senate Public Safety Committee.  He also served on the Insurance Committee. He worked at IBM and Southern California Edison before entering politics full time. He authored a bill that created the first statewide process to decertify police officers who commit wrongdoing.

His issues are both similar and different than Allen. He also supports fixing pricing and transparency, and modernizing the Department of Insurance. He want to reward people that protect and harden their homes, and wants to establish a gold standard for home safety. He wants a public-private partnership to repair high-risk markets, and encouraging those in high risk areas to move. Most importantly, he wants to address equity in insurance markets so that it isn’t just the wealthy that can get insurance.

In the Insurance Journal article, he indicated that he would focus “on building a regulatory environment where insurers can operate sustainably and consumers are genuinely protected—because those goals aren’t in conflict.” He supports “modernizing how we assess and price risk. Carriers need to use forward-looking catastrophic modeling that reflects today’s climate reality, and the regulatory process should move at the speed that requires.” He’ll also push for a real risk mitigation credit system—giving insurers the data and confidence to re-enter markets where homeowners and communities have invested in resilience, believing that reduced risk should mean expanded coverage. Lastly, he’ll work to stabilize the FAIR Plan so it functions as a true transitional market, not a growing liability. His goal is healthier private market, partnering with the industry to get there.

In terms of endorsements, he also has a lot of union support and Democratic elected leader support, but a bit less than Allen.”

PATRICK WOLFF (D) – Financial Analyst

RECOMMENDATION: NO, but he has a lot of good details in his plan, and a one – telematics – that terrified us.

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CANDIDATE STATEMENT – Interesting. He was a chess champion.

California is in an insurance crisis. We need an Insurance Commissioner with deep insurance and financial expertise to solve it—not someone who is part of the politics that created the problem. I am not a politician, and if elected this is the only elected office I will ever run for. From 2001–2005, I worked at a major bank where I built a home and auto insurance brokerage. Since 2005, I have worked as a financial analyst where, among other sectors, I analyzed insurance markets and companies. I know how insurance works inside out, and I am running to make our insurance system fair, efficient and transparent. The Insurance Commissioner must be a champion for customers and ensure the Department of Insurance is never under the influence of insurance companies. My campaign does not accept any money from insurance companies or fossil fuel companies, and I will never accept gifts from corporate or special interests. Before I graduated from college in 1997, I was a champion chess player: I became a chess grandmaster and was a two-time U.S. Chess Champion. I know how to fight and win in tough, complex situations and I will bring those skills to the role of Insurance Commissioner. You can read my detailed plan to fix the insurance crisis at https://patrickwolff.com/my-plan. I would be honored to have your vote, and as your Insurance Commissioner, I will be a Wolff on your side. https://patrickwolff.com/

(Indivisible Ventura) We’ve listed some of his points here. There are a great ones, a boner on forest management, and something vaguely terrifying – telematics.

  • “Grade Every Insurance Company on How They Process Claims and Provide to Consumers at Point of Purchase” – Yes. Having this information before you commit to buying a policy would save a lot of heartache.
  • “Mandate Insurance Companies Offer Discounts for Residents Who Have Reduced Fire Risk Around Their Homes“- Yes. Some of the home hardening remedies can be expensive. It’s a rotten trick if you comply with the rules and still don’t get a promised discount.
  • “Mandate Smoke Damage Protection Inclusion for Home Insurance” – definitely this. We all know people who’ve suffered fire damage now, and this has definitely been an issue.
  • “Disclose Potential Home Insurance Underinsurance and Mandate Availability of Extended Replacement Cost Coverage” – YES!!! THIS!!! Most of us are underinsured, taking lowball estimates of reconstruction work from insurance agents as gospel. Many people who were burn out in the Ventura fire thought they were covered. There were a lot of “For Sale” signs on burnt out lots afterwards for owners who couldn’t make the numbers work.
  • “Provide Financial Support to Harden Homes Against Wildfires” – Yes. He notes that it can cost tens of thousands to make a house harder to burn. He want to provide “tax incentives and other fiscal subsidies so homeowners can afford to make their homes safer from wildfire.”
  • “Urge Sacramento to Increase Annual Controlled Burns to Reduce Wildfire Severity“– OK, he may be a chess champion, but he’s not a forestry professional. Do more research here, Patrick. Contact the John Muir Project.
  • “Study the Potential Approval of Telematics for Auto Insurance Underwriting“ – YIKES! This sounds terrifying. Telematics are devices in card to track our driving behavior, including speed, braking, cell phone use and time of day. And sometimes, your driving routes as well. We taken quotes below from this great Consumers Reports article on this exciting new intrusion into our lives.
    • DISCOUNTS: If we drive more safely, apparently, we should get discounts. We assume the opposite is true as well. Right now, it an “opt-in” for people in other states trying to lower their insurance costs and Consumer Reports states that “only 14 percent of the policyholders surveyed had used telematics with their current insurer.” Because insurance companies apparently incorporate race as a risk factor into their rate structure (surprise, surprise!), “CR’s survey found that the median annual savings among Black ($186) and Latino ($174) policyholders were bigger than the median savings for white ($98) and Asian ($109) policyholders after signing up for driver monitoring.”  He says he takes the privacy concerns with telematics, but we’re now the only state in the US that doesn’t use them.
    • PRIVACY: “Companies can say they’re not selling your data, but use weaselly language that hides the fact that the data has been ‘de-identified’, or stripped of personal information, and sold anyway,” says Davisson. “But that de-identified data can later be matched with other commercially available data about you and ‘re-indentified.’”
      Most companies that collect data, he says, are aware of this, which is why even de-identified data is valuable to them. Both Davisson and DeLong brought up as an example a recent scandal in which General Motors sold its customers’ driving data to risk-profiling companies through its OnStar connected-vehicle subscriptions, a move that left some people having to shell out more for insurance or having their policies canceled altogether.
      “There is always a risk that your data could be siphoned off and made available to other companies, and we see such a steady drumbeat of stories about data breaches,” Davisson says.
      Sometimes, the use of data can result in discriminatory rate hikes, says DeLong. According to the CFA, lower-income workers who work night shifts and have no control over their work schedules are more likely to be penalized in this way, a phenomenon that often impacts Black and Latino consumers. Data about the neighborhood you live in and where you drive can also be used against you.

cahighways) “Wolff is a financial analyst who lives in San Francisco and has never held public office. He obtained an insurance license ahead of his run for commissioner. A chess grandmaster who once played professionally, he pursued a career in finance, founding a hedge fund, working at a family office and building the auto and home insurance brokerage business of Capital One. He has invested his own money in his campaign — $600,000, according to campaign finance records — and simply wants to help fix the problems he sees in the insurance market.

According to Calmatters, Wolff would create a report card that would grade how insurers handle claims based on existing market conduct annual surveys of insurance companies, which is now anonymized but which he would push to be identifiable. He said that would let the insurance department help customers decide which insurers to reward or punish for their behavior. He would consider allowing auto insurers to use telematics, which companies use in other states to track driver behavior for underwriting purposes. He said it could help for more accurate underwriting and possibly even lower auto insurance premiums, but acknowledged privacy concerns around the technology and said insurance companies should be prohibited from sharing or selling driver information. He would also roll out a dashboard that would disclose complaints about providers of life insurance. The insurance department is not making that data public, and he doesn’t see why not.

He has a much smaller set of endorsements, primarily from the LANG papers (which tend to run Conservative). He does have the endorsement of the SF Chronicle, which notes: “Wolff knows California insurance regulations better than any other candidate: He not only built an auto and home insurance brokerage but also obtained his insurance license before entering the race. Instead of immediately reinventing the system, Wolff wants to do the hard work of making it run well. In an endorsement interview, he told us that California insurance commissioners have historically focused on micromanaging every rate filing instead of regulating insurers’ broader market conduct — whether they’re appropriately underwriting policies and effectively handling claims. He also committed to following the 60-day timeframe established by Prop 103 in which certain rate change requests are deemed approved. The department has historically required insurers to waive that provision, often leading to requests being stuck in limbo for months. Wolff’s mission is to “reform the credibility of the office itself” — which is desperately needed after Lara’s history of ethical scandals and jetting off on lavish trips with oft-undisclosed funders. While Wolff doesn’t have prior political experience, we’re convinced his deep understanding of insurance and financial markets, as well as his evident passion for the work, will go a long way toward getting stakeholders on board.” This is an interesting take.”

JANE KIM (D) – Attorney/Consumer Advocate

RECOMMENDATION: No. We LOVE her ideas, but CA is nowhere ready for this yet.

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  • Jane Kim
  • Age: 48
  • City of residence: 
  • Occupation: former city supervisor (2011-19), former attorney at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, California political director for Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential run, leader of the Working Families Party
  • Education: attended Stanford and has a law degree from UC Berkeley
  • Funding:
  • E-mail: info@janekim.org
  • Instagram: @janekim
  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JaneKimCA
  • Statememt to CalMatters: Kim’s statement to CalMatters.
  • Website:

She’s endorsed by Bernie Sanders and a different set of unions and elected officials.

California Young Democrats

Bernie’s org
WORKING FAMILY PARTY
CA Teachers association
NATIONAL UNION OF HEALTH WORKERS
UAW

CANDIDATE STATEMENT: The insurance commissioner should be working for you to lower prices, not working for the industry to increase profits. That’s why I will never take a dime of insurance industry money. Right now, the insurance system is broken. Insurance companies raise our rates, cancel our coverage, and deny our claims while they rake in record profits. As Insurance Commissioner, I’ll cap excessive profits and freeze your rates when you file a claim. I’ll create a public Disaster Insurance for All program so we are protected when fires, floods or earthquakes strike. I’ll crack down on illegal price-fixing, stop insurers from using credit scores to deny coverage, and fight for guaranteed healthcare for every child in California. I’m a civil rights attorney, organizer and consumer advocate, and I know how to take on big challenges and win for working families. As an elected San Francisco Supervisor, I won universal tuition-free community college, California’s first $15 minimum wage, and record levels of affordable housing. I’ve earned the support of state and national leaders like United States Senator Bernie Sanders, Controller Malia Cohen, teachers, and healthcare workers because they know I’ll fight for you. It’s time for an insurance system that works for allworking families, and I would be honored to earn your vote. Visit JaneKim.org to learn more.

(Indivisible Ventura) We’re suckers for a “Fill-in-the-blank” For All” solution, like Medicare-for-All. But we may not be ready for “Insurance for All” yet. We checked out the referenced Consumer Watchdog reference, and what is really happening in New Zealand and Japan.

(Consumer Watchdog) What we have “FOR-ALL” now: “The California Earthquake Authority was created to stabilize the market, yet decades later it offers expensive, thin coverage that has not meaningfully improved affordability or availability for most homeowners. 

California hasn’t had a major earthquake since 1994, so state-run earthquake insurance should be a huge success. The problem is the CEA spends so much of our premium dollars on expensive reinsurance costs, the earthquake policy is still a high-deductible, low benefit policy that isn’t worth the price to many Californians. In effect, the CEA functions as a pass-through from California homeowners to the global reinsurance market, with little affordable risk protection—and severely constrained ability to build an additional surplus layer—remaining once that transfer is made…However, the CEA’s inability to adequately capitalize against an earthquake through the development of surplus and reserves, and reliance on high-cost reinsurance, shows the pitfall of a state-run disaster insurance policy. 

The problem grows exponentially when capitalizing a wildfire fund. Despite our best mitigation efforts, major wildfires with tens of billions of dollars in insurance consequences hit in 2017 – 2018 and again in 2025. Relative to earthquake forecasts, these losses are sadly more predictable with advancing climate change. Capitalizing the costs of these payouts is beyond the capacity of California – tens of billions of dollars anyway you count it, likely high tens of billions.  

Premiums from California policyholders over the decades have built up hundreds of billions of dollars in surplus and reserves for California insurance companies. Policyholder surplus for the top five homeowner insurers in California alone was about $170 billion at year-end 2024 (counting State Farm’s parent company.) The state has no realistic capacity to capitalize at this level. In recent years, insurance companies have used this leverage to bully the state into higher premiums and other deregulation measures.

WHAT HAVE OTHER COUNTRIES DONE?

  • NEW ZEALAND: “New Zealand’s program only covers $300,000 NZ in damage, which translates to $176,685 in US dollars. The average home value in California is $755,000. New Zealand’s limited cap reflects deliberate design: the New Zealand fund applies across multiple natural hazards and is intended as a thin first-loss layer, appropriate for events—such as many earthquakes—that often cause partial damage rather than total loss. Wildfires are different. As recent California fires have shown, wildfire losses frequently result in near-total or total destruction of homes, making a thin, capped layer far less effective as a meaningful source of consumer protection.”
  • JAPAN: Earthquake Insurance (Mixed / Limited Coverage)
    • How it works: Earthquake insurance cannot be bought as a standalone policy; it must be purchased as an add-on to standard fire insurance. The government reinsures these liabilities with private insurers to guarantee massive payouts, but coverage is deliberately capped. Policies typically only pay out a maximum of (50%) of the property’s insured value, even if the home is completely destroyed. The government-backed scheme has a cap on total payouts and if claims exceed this level, all payments are reduced pro-rata.
    • Some providers (Sony) offer the option to pay for an additional 50% if the house is badly damaged/destroyed. While theoretically that would mean 100% coverage, and it certainly offers peace of mind, it’s difficult to predict whether such a scheme would fully pay out should there actually be a large scale disaster in, i.e., Tokyo.
    • Effectiveness: It provides vital emergency cash to help survivors relocate or rent temporary housing, but it does not fully cover the cost of rebuilding a home. Furthermore, participation rates remain relatively low because it is an expensive, optional add-on.
    • The system works exceptionally well at saving lives, providing medical care, and keeping citizens out of total financial ruin. However, homeowners are often unpleasantly surprised to find that their property policies leave a massive funding gap when it comes to fully replacing a destroyed house.

(cahighways) “Kim is a former San Francisco Supervisor. She also served as the California Political Director for Bernie 2020 and as a Senior Fellow at both the Sanders Institute and the Young Elected Officials Network, a program of People for the American Way. Over the last four years, Jane Kim served as the California Director for the Working Families Party. She received her B.A. from Stanford University and her J.D. from the U.C. Berkeley School of Law.

According to Calmatters, Kim “has three main proposals around more government involvement, the main one to create “natural disaster insurance for all.” It would be funded by a portion of policyholder premiums that insurance companies would pass along to the state. The state would manage the fund, which would guarantee fire and flood coverage. Insurance companies would continue to provide coverage for other risks. It’s not her idea — New Zealand has the same system, and it allows the country to invest the premiums in preventive measures, she said. Establishing such a system in California could allow the state to invest profit from premiums that would have gone to insurers’ shareholders in its communities instead.” She would also establish a public option for auto insurance by expanding eligibility for an existing program that provides low-cost insurance to drivers who make less than $38,000 a year, and she wants to provide Medicare for kids believing that California should centralize all insurance authority within the insurance department instead of having managed health care handled by the Managed Health Care Department.

In their endorsement of Wolff, the SF Chronicle noted this about Kim: “The most aggressive is former San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim, the California director of the Working Families Party, who wants to effectively blow up the system by establishing a state-run single-payer disaster insurance program with guaranteed coverage. She would also require insurers to pay interest on delayed or underpaid claims and push the state to offer guaranteed health care coverage for children.” The Chronicle noted that “her proposals are almost certainly dead on arrival — the fiercest consumer advocacy group, Consumer Watchdog, opposes the disaster insurance idea.”

Despite that:
(knock-LA.com) “Here’s one you didn’t think you had to think about. The insurance commissioner runs the Department of Insurance, responsible for licensing insurance companies, investigating consumer complaints and insurers, and punishing insurers for regulatory noncompliance. The Department of Insurance impacts home and auto insurance, life insurance, worker’s compensation, and some aspects of health insurance (California, uniquely, splits oversight of health insurance companies between the Department of Managed Health Care, run by the governor, and the independent Department of Insurance).

As insurance rates rise and home insurers abandon the state, working people are being shut out of the economy in a most basic way. Kim wants to create a nonprofit public disaster insurance plan, create transparency around costs and coverage, and use regulatory powers to hold bad actors in the insurance industry accountable. 

Look at this race like Kenneth Mejia’s first run for Controller, but with fewer corgis. Insurance Commissioner is a technical and regulatory office that most people wouldn’t look twice at, but also offers significant opportunities for a mission-driven public servant to make material improvements in people’s lives.

The race has eleven names on the ballot, mostly offering more of the status quo. Lalo Vargas and Jane Kim are the two offering a bolder vision that isn’t a deregulatory fever dream, and between them the only one with the statewide network of support to win is Kim. The former San Francisco supervisor carries endorsements from the California Teachers Association, the Working Families Party, and local and national elected officials from Bubba Fish to Bernie Sanders.”

ROBERT HOWELL (R) – Cybersecurity Company CEO

RECOMMENDATION: NO!

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  • Robert Howell
  • Age: 71
  • City of residence: 
  • Occupation: owner of Silicon Valley electronics testing firm Exatron, founded one of the first Tea Party groups in the state, member of the Santa Clara County Republican Central Committee
  • Education: –
  • Funding:
  • E-mail: robert.howell@reagan.com
  • Website: electroberthowell.org

CANDIDATE STATEMENT: Years before the Los Angeles fires, I warned that California’s insurance system was failing the people it was supposed to protect. Today, that failure is both tragic and undeniable. California’s insurance system is broken, and it did not fail overnight. Insurance companies have operated with little oversight for years. Policies canceled, coverages reduced, and premiums increased, while regulators sit on the sidelines. Californians do everything right. They pay their premiums and follow the rules. Yet when they need urgent coverage, the system fails them. Career politicians who are beholden to insurance insiders have created these problems. I pledge to never take political donations from insurance companies. I am a husband, father, and grandfather. I’m a business owner who understands affordability in the real world. As the CEO of a Silicon Valley cybersecurity manufacturing company, we employ American workers and manage bottom-line budgets. Voting Robert Howell for Insurance Commissioner will guarantee an independent watchdog for consumers. I will hold insurance companies accountable to the rules and challenge abusive practices. I will implement an “Insurance Payers Bill of Rights” to protect policyholders from unfair cancellations and unjustified rate increases. We deserve an Insurance Commissioner who enforces the law and answers to the people. Everyday Californians must come first. I take that responsibility very seriously. Vote Robert Howell for California Insurance Commissioner. BTW . . . more than 5.4 million Californians voted Robert Howell for Insurance Commissioner in 2022. This time, let’s win together! ElectRobertHowell.com CRAgop.org

(cahighways) “Howell is a Cybersecurity Manager and an elected delegate to the Santa Clara County Republican Party. He ran unsuccessfully for Insurance Commissioner in 2022, losing to Lara by 20%. Howell is founder of the Tea Party Patriots of Silicon Valley. He ran for the State Senate, District 15, in 2024 and lost.

His plan has 5 priorities. (1) Protecting homeowners by holding insurers accountable for unfair cancellations and hidden fees, guaranteeing a clear path to coverage for homeowners who take wildfire-mitigation steps, requiring insurers to provide real notice and documented reasons before nonrenewing a policy, stopping companies from penalizing families for asking questions or filing legitimate claims, and increasing transparency by requiring public reporting of cancellation and nonrenewal data. (2) Increasing accountability and reform by increasing transparency and combating insider influence and industry favoritism. (3) Increasing consumer protections. (4) Expanding resources for wildfire preparedness and prevention. (5) Supporting small business.

He is endorsed by the conservative California Republican Assembly. He also claims endorsement by the American Independent Party, which is odd because there is an American Independent Party candidate running.”

STACY A. KORSGADEN (R) – Licensed Insurance Agent

RECOMMENDATION: OMG, NO! And her previous comments on forest management make us think she’s going to be very popular with lumber corporations.

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Korsgaden attended the Jan. 6, 2021 rally at the U.S. Capitol but said she abhors the violence that took place. Ummm…no.

Sample of endorsements.

additional county Republican Party clubs
She got $5,500 from
Carl DeMaio
COMMUNITY LEADERSCOMMUNITY LEADERS
Senate Republican Leader Brian JonesFresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig
Senator Shannon GroveKings County Supervisor Doug Verboon
Senator Kelly SeyartoSan Luis Obispo County Supervisor Debbie Arnold 
Senator Steven ChoiSanta Barbara County Supervisor Bob Nelson
Senator Tony StricklandTuolumne County Supervisor Stephen A. Griefer
Senator Suzette Valladares San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow
Assemblymember Carl De MaioTulare County District Attorney Tim Ward
Assemblymember David TangipaBetsy Mahan, Capital Lincoln Club Board Member
Mike Netter, Rebuild California Board MemberRhonda Shader, Candidate for SD 34 and former Placentia City Councilmember
Jose Torres, retired Fire ChiefEd Waage, Pismo Beach Mayo
A Coalition of Democrat, Republican, No Party Preference Voters and Insurance Professionals Support Stacy for Insurance Commissioner! – See her endorsement page.

CANDIDATE STATEMENT: Stacy Korsgaden is a licensed insurance professional (License #0750748), small business owner, and lifelong Californian running for Insurance Commissioner to unleash a competitive insurance marketplace that works for consumers, not Bureaucrats. For nearly 40 years, she has worked directly with families, seniors, farmers, and small businesses, helping them protect their homes, livelihoods, and futures. She’s seen firsthand how overregulation, market distortion, and regulatory failure have left consumers with fewer options and higher prices. Korsgaden brings real world experience, not ideology, to the job. As Insurance Commissioner, Stacy will fight for a free and fair market that will restore competition. Her goal is simple, lower costs, more choices, and a healthy insurance market that actually works for consumers. Stacy Korsgaden respectfully asks for your vote to bring competition, accountability, and common sense back to California insurance.

(Indivisible Ventura) This is the candidate who makes us most fearful for our forests…Our expert from the John Muir Project said it: Korsgaden just wants more logging.

cahighways)“Korsgaden is a financial advisor in the SLO area. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; as well as a certificated degree in Professional Financial Planning from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Korsgaden has held an active California Insurance license (#0750748) since 1988 and has spent more than 37 years helping families and small businesses navigate complex insurance policies, devastating losses, and an increasingly broken regulatory system. Her full-service insurance agency services nearly 8,000 policies. Korsgaden attended the Jan. 6, 2021 rally at the U.S. Capitol but said she abhors the violence that took place.

She has a detailed plan to bring insurers back and fix the market. This includes allowing expanded product availability, changing the focus of the department to be service focused, cracking down on fraud, ensuring accurate cost estimates, streamlining rate approvals, strengthening wildfire prevention, reducing reliance on the FAIR plan, and having a unified disaster center. She feels that the current failures are the result of an “all‑systems failure to serve the market because of suffocating regulation and rigid price controls that punish success and drive insurers out. Another major factor is the refusal of state leaders to aggressively mitigate fire risk and to crack down on crime. These choices, combined with the policies of the Department of Insurance, have made California hostile to insurance companies and left ordinary Californians paying the price.”

She has endorsements from a large number of Republican elected officials and Republican organizations. She is the top Republican candidate in terms of fundraising.”

MERRITT FARREN (R) – Consumer Advocate/Attorney

RECOMMENDATION: NO. The “switching party to run for this office” thing was a dick move.

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NO ENDORSEMENTS

CANDIDATE STATEMENT: I’m Merritt Farren, a California wildfire survivor, former Amazon lawyer, and former head of legal, guest claims, and security operations for the Disneyland Resort. I lost my home in the Pacific Palisades fire and saw firsthand how broken our insurance system is. After the fire, I joined the State Farm rate-increase proceedings to represent consumer interests. California is in the midst of an insurance crisis. Millions of us— individuals, families, and businesses—can’t get the insurance we need. Those who can are facing skyrocketing costs, and consumer treatment continues to worsen. How’s this possible? California is the world’s great center of innovative problem solving. Our private sector is second to none. Yet when it comes to insurance reform, our government has failed us. I have experience at two of the world’s most innovative, customer-centric companies: Amazon and Disney. Both understand that putting the customer first doesn’t limit success; it’s the best way to drive it. I want to bring the customer-centric innovation I’ve learned to California insurance regulation. Not incremental change around the edges. Real reform. Reform that expands your insurance options, lowers your costs, and keeps your family safe. Elect me as Insurance Commissioner, and you’ll see the bold thinking and decisive action we need—in home, health, business, and auto insurance. Oh, and I define myself as a California Values candidate. I value most what Californians value most: optimism, creativity, personal responsibility, safety for our communities, individual liberties, and compassion for others. Thanks, Merritt

cahighways) “Farren primarily worked at Disney and Amazon. At Disney, he rose to Senior Vice President and General Counsel of the Disneyland Resort , overseeing Legal, Guest Claims & Security; at Amazon , as Associate General Counsel for Media and New Technologies , he played a key role launching Prime Video, Amazon Music, Kindle, eBooks, and Amazon Studios , and served as Chief Legal Officer for Audible. He also held senior roles in Corporate Development at Sony Pictures Entertainment. He earned his degree with honors from Stanford University and graduated from Berkeley Law. He was also an Official Consumer Advocate at the State Farm Rate Proceedings.

His issues page notes three main thrusts of his plan: (1) A Technology-Centric Reinvention of Insurance Regulations; (2) Implement CAL Reinsure to Eliminate the FAIR Plan; and (3) Aggressive Leadership on Community Safety & Root Cost Drivers. The notion behind CAL Reinsure is to allow the state to provide a backstop for insurers. The entity would be funded by a fee charged by insurers and would eliminate the need for the FAIR Plan because companies would be more inclined to write policies, he told CalMatters. The authority could issue bonds that could be sold in the commercial market, and would be backed by the state, like municipal bonds. Would this get insurers into the market? Only an actuary would know, because it might not reduce their exposure sufficiently.

The LA Times notes that Farren a lifelong Democrat who switched parties to run for insurance commissioner as a Republican. He is a newcomer to political office whose campaign leans heavily on his personal experience of losing his Pacific Palisades home in the fire. The Insurance Journal article indicates a very executive approach: “I’ll use the skills I learned at Disney, Amazon and Sony Pictures to innovate, taking a stronger lead in using the position’s executive functions to jump in and create clear and immediate results consumers need—and will also get experts together to go line by line in insurance—home, auto, business, workers’ comp, health—to root out the key drivers of increasing insurance cost and to tackle them—to get us all the insurance we need at a price we can afford.”

Farren’s website does not list any endorsements.”

SEAN LEE (R) – Financial Services Executive

RECOMMENDATION: NO.

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NO ENDORSEMENTS

CANDIDATE STATEMENT: Sean Lee is a Financial Services Executive committed to protecting California consumers, families, homeowners, seniors, and small businesses. For over two decades, Lee has helped individuals and business owners understand insurance coverage, manage financial risks, and make informed decisions. He has worked with families facing rising premiums, homeowners seeking reliable protection, and seniors concerned about financial security. Earlier in his career, Lee conducted scientific research at JPL / NASA through Caltech, developing a disciplined, data-driven approach to analyzing complex problems. He later applied those analytical skills in the insurance and financial services industries. Lee believes the Insurance Commissioner must be an independent regulator focused on fair insurance rates, clear policy language, and strong consumer protections. He supports transparency, accountability, and effective oversight of insurance practices. Lee also supports the responsible use of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and lnsurTech, to improve efficiency and combat fraud. If elected, Sean Lee will work relentlessly to protect consumers and strengthen California’s insurance marketplace.

cahighways)“Dr. Sean Lee is a Financial Services Executive. With over 28 years of experience, he has helped individuals and business owners understand insurance coverage, manage financial risks, and make informed financial decisions. Earlier in his career, he conducted scientific research at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory through Caltech, developing a strong analytical and data-driven approach to solving complex problems. He doesn’t give much detail on his website, but just enough to find his linked-in profile. He seems to be the President and CEO of Antai Global, a one-stop financial service firm for small and medium enterprises (SME). He’s also a real-estate broker with Coldwell-Banker, and did a postdoc at JPL/Caltech on Oceanography (he got his degree in that area at Texas A&M).

HIs core solution is something called California Catastrophe Reinsurance Partnership (CCRP). CCRP creates a public-private reinsurance layer that spreads catastrophic wildfire risk across insurers, reinsurers, and capital markets. This reduces extreme losses for individual insurers and encourages them to remain in California. His broad priorities are to (1) Stabilize the insurance market; (2) Protecting homeowners; (3) addressing wildfire risk; (4) supporting small business; and (5) improving transparency.

He lists no endorsements, and didn’t respond to the LA Times questions or the Insurance Journal. According to the LA Times, he is at the lower end of fundraising, around $40K as of May 1.“

KEITH W. DAVIS  (American Independent) – Insurance Agent

RECOMMENDATION: NO. Also, we’re never voting for an American “George Wallace” Independent candidate.

(Note: Many people in its membership never intended to register for this ultra-conservative political party. They thought they were signing up as for what CA calls “no party preference.” We correct this misconception all the time while doing voter registration.)

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  • Keith W. David
  • Age: 
  • City of residence: 
  • Occupation:
  • Education: –
  • Funding:
  • Instagram: instagram.com/
  • Facebook: facebook.com/
  • Website: https://gokeithdavis.com/about-me/
NO ENDORSEMENTS

cahighways)”Davis’ website provides few specifics other than the fact he has been in the insurance industry for 10 years. However, his instragram indicates he is from Winchester CA, and there is a Keith Davis who sells Farmers Insurance in Sun City. That’s likely him. According to the Insurance Journal, he has been selling and managing everything from auto and homeowners coverage to commercial policies. That fits with a Farmers Agent.

The Insurance Journal notes that he said that “if elected, one of the first things I’d focus on is taking a hard look at how fireline scores and boundaries are set. Right now, too many areas are labeled high-risk, forcing homeowners to pay higher prices even when their specific situation doesn’t justify it. I think we’ve overreacted in some cases, leading to fewer options and higher costs. We need a fairer and more accurate system so people can actually find and afford coverage. I also really want to focus on education. Many people don’t fully understand their policies, things like BI/PD limits, 50/100 coverage or loss of use. If we can break that down in a simple way, it helps people make better decisions at renewal.  And I’d like to sit down with carriers to explore premium credits for safe drivers. It may not be easy, but if there’s a way to reward people with clean records and actually lower their premiums, it’s definitely a conversation worth having.”

His issues page notes the following prongs of his plan: (1) Lower Costs & Improve Availability; (2) Independent Review of Denied Claims; (3) Affordable Insurance for All Californians; (4) Faster, More Fair Claims Handling; (5) Balanced, Practical Regulation.

His website does not list any endorsements. He seems to have minimal campaign spending.“

EDUARDO “LALO” VARGAS (Peace and Freedom) – Science Teacher

RECOMMENDATION: NO. He is adorable! However, no relevant professional qualifications for this role.

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NO ENDORSEMENTS

CANDIDATE STATEMENT: Every year Californians pay higher insurance premiums for less coverage. I pledge to freeze insurance rates and lower premiums, to investigate and hold insurance executives accountable for exploitative claim procedures, and to fight for a public insurance system that guarantees full and fair coverage for all. As a socialist, science teacher, union organizer, former firefighter and EMT—I have extensive experience serving ordinary people and putting their interests first. Vote Socialist 2026! Vote LeftUnitySlate.org.

(cahighways)”Vargas has been a teacher at the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) for the past five years. He teaches biology and environmental science to high school students. He is also a member of United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) and is a fierce advocate for his students. In 2023, Lalo along with thousands of other teachers went on strike in solidarity with SEIU Local 99 to better learning conditions at LAUSD. When Lalo isn’t teaching he spends his time organizing alongside different working class communities to fight for what they deserve. This includes organizing after the wildfires.

His program, according to his website, is: (1) Freeze Rate Hikes & Lower Premiums; (2) Investigate the 10 largest insurers; (3) Full Compensation for Fire Survivors; (4) Justice for Black Altadena & All Black Policyholders; (5) Hold Insurance Executives Accountable for Exploitative Practices; (6) Build a Public Insurer: Abolish the Insurance Companies; (7) Free universal healthcare; (8) Overhaul the FAIR Plan; (9) Working Class Leaders At The Helm; and (10) Save Our Planet From Capitalism. This follows through to what the Insurance Journal says: “Under socialist leadership, the Department of Insurance would operate under a simple principle: the needs of people must always be prioritized over the profits of the insurance industry. That means prioritizing enforcement and holding insurance companies accountable for exploitative business practices and claims procedures. As Insurance Commissioner, I also pledge to deny all further rate hikes until insurance companies cease their exploitative business practices and pay the survivors of the Los Angeles fires the full compensation needed to rebuild and repair their homes.”

According to the LA Times, he has minimal spending, around $15K. He has no endorsements, but is part of “Vote Socialist California”.

ERIC THOR AARNIO (R) – Contractor

RECOMMENDATION: NO, not a serious candidate.

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  • Age: 
  • City of residence: 
  • Occupation:
  • Education: –
  • Funding:
  • Instagram: instagram.com/
  • Facebook: facebook.com/
  • Website:

(cahighways) Aarnio doesn’t appear to have a website that I could find. I also couldn’t find any biographical information on him.

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