Election 2026 · State of California
California Insurance Commissioner
Ben Allen and Jane Kim are the candidates for California Insurance Commissioner on the November 3, 2026 ballot.
The Insurance Commissioner heads the California Department of Insurance, which enforces the state's insurance laws and writes regulations to carry them out. The department licenses, regulates and examines insurance companies and answers public questions and complaints about insurance.
Summary by CityHallPass, not the official text or legal advice. The official text controls: LA County's official election information.
| Who votes | Every California voter |
|---|---|
| Term and pay | Four-year term, elected at the same time as the Governor; no more than two terms (Insurance Code section 12900). Salary: $196,743 a year, effective December 1, 2025. |
| How it works | Top two from the June 2 primary, regardless of party. Most votes wins. Commissioner Ricardo Lara is termed out, so the seat is open. Both finalists are Democrats. |
| Party labels | Party preference printed on the ballot |
What it means for the City of LA
Insurers that want to change the rates they charge must apply to the Commissioner, who must notify the public and may not approve a rate that is excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory (Insurance Code section 1861.05). That covers the rates Los Angeles residents and businesses pay for insurance regulated under that law. The Commissioner also oversees the FAIR Plan, the insurer of last resort that many Palisades and Altadena homeowners relied on after the January 2025 fires.
At a glance
| Ben Allen | Jane Kim | |
|---|---|---|
| June 2 primary, statewide (11 candidates) | 19.4%, second | 27.4%, first |
| June 2 primary, LA County | 21.5% | 32.0% |
| Latest public poll | None found | None found |
| Contributions raised, Jan 2025 to Sept. 19, 2026 | $2.59 million | $1.24 million, plus a $10,000 loan from herself |
| Cash on hand, Sept. 19, 2026 | $698,621 | $345,281 |
| Outside groups spending for / against | $1.08 million / none reported | $534,735 / $1.51 million |
Primary results, June 2, 2026
| Jane Kim (Democratic) | 2,328,836 | 27.4% |
|---|---|---|
| Ben Allen (Democratic) | 1,649,501 | 19.4% |
| Stacy A. Korsgaden (Republican) | 1,320,966 | 15.5% |
| Robert P Howell (Republican) | 649,093 | 7.6% |
| Patrick Wolff (Democratic) | 615,069 | 7.2% |
| Eric Merritt Farren (Republican) | 570,669 | 6.7% |
| Sean Lee (Republican) | 458,056 | 5.4% |
| Steven Craig Bradford (Democratic) | 416,998 | 4.9% |
| Eduardo "Lalo" Vargas (Peace and Freedom) | 248,039 | 2.9% |
| Thor Aarnio (Republican) | 158,603 | 1.9% |
| Keith W. Davis (American Independent) | 83,994 | 1.0% |
The candidates
Ben Allen
Allen is a native and resident of Santa Monica (LA Times). He has a history degree from Harvard, a master's in Latin American studies from Cambridge and a law degree from UC Berkeley (Orange County Register). He served on the Santa Monica-Malibu school board from 2008 to 2014, including as president, and has been a state senator since 2014; his district includes the Palisades fire zone (SCNG questionnaire; LA Times). He is termed out of the Senate this year (CalMatters).
Jane Kim
Kim is the daughter of Korean immigrants. The LA Times calls her a Democrat from San Francisco (LA Times); the Orange County Register says she is from Lakeport (Orange County Register), and her ballot statement gives a Lakeport address (Official Voter Information Guide). She has degrees from Stanford and UC Berkeley's law school and worked as an attorney at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights (LA Times). She was a member and president of the San Francisco Board of Education and represented District 6 on the Board of Supervisors from 2011 to 2019 (Orange County Register). She was California political director for Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign and most recently California director of the Working Families Party (CalMatters).
The job
Powers. The Commissioner runs the Department of Insurance. Under Proposition 103 (1988), insurers need the Commissioner’s approval before they raise home and auto rates, and the public must be notified of rate requests (Insurance Code 1861.05; Mercury News). The department licenses more than 1,700 insurance companies and more than 520,000 agents, brokers and adjusters. It handles about 373,000 consumer inquiries and complaints and reviews about 4,250 rate filings a year (2026-27 state budget, Department of Insurance). Insurers collect more than $400 billion a year in premiums in California (state budget).
Budget and staff. The department has $358.2 million and 1,397 positions in 2026-27, almost all paid from insurer fees through the Insurance Fund. Fraud control is the largest program, at $165.4 million (state budget).
Limits. Climate change, land use, building costs and firefighting sit outside the Commissioner’s direct control, the Mercury News editorial board wrote (Mercury News). Kim’s state-run insurance program would need the Legislature’s approval (Mercury News).
Facts that shape the job now, for Los Angeles.
- The January 2025 fires. The Palisades and Eaton fires killed 31 people and destroyed more than 16,000 structures (Department of Insurance). Insurers had paid $22.4 billion on the fires as of early 2026 (Department of Insurance). From January through November 2025, more than 42,000 claims were filed, more than 13,000 of them for standing homes with smoke damage (Department of Insurance).
- State Farm. In May 2026 the department took legal action against State Farm, the state’s largest home insurer. Examiners found 398 violations of state law in 114 of 220 sampled fire claims (Department of Insurance). The department seeks up to $4 million in penalties and a one-year ban on new State Farm policies; State Farm denies a general practice of mishandling claims (Orange County Register). A 2026 settlement kept State Farm’s 17% emergency homeowners rate increase in place (Department of Insurance).
- FAIR Plan. The insurer of last resort grew from 464,900 policies in fall 2024 to about 668,600 at the end of 2025, and its exposure reached $724 billion. The department approved a 29.1% average rate increase starting Oct. 15, 2026, with the largest increases in high fire-risk areas (Orange County Register). The department found the FAIR Plan had not started or fully carried out its recommendations in more than half of 32 areas it examined, and it has taken legal action against the plan over smoke-damage claim denials (Department of Insurance).
- Sustainable Insurance Strategy. Lara’s rules let insurers use forward-looking catastrophe models in setting rates, and require them to write more policies in wildfire-distressed areas (Department of Insurance; CalMatters). Consumer advocates say the maps leave out many fire-prone neighborhoods and expect steep rate increases (Orange County Register).
- Rebuilding. A department study found that rebuilding the nearly 30,000 homes inside the two burn areas to the IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home standard would cut projected average annual losses by about a third (Department of Insurance).
Records
Ben Allen
Offices. Santa Monica-Malibu school board, 2008-2014; state Senate since 2014 (SCNG questionnaire).
Insurance laws and bills.
- SB 495 (2025), signed by Gov. Newsom: insurers must pay a large share of personal-property coverage after a disaster without an itemized inventory. CalMatters describes the share as 60% (Orange County Register; CalMatters).
- SB 429 (2025), which he co-authored: created a publicly available wildfire catastrophe model (Orange County Register).
- SB 1209 (2026): gives the department more power to force insurers to fix violations found in audits. The Mercury News reported it was on the Governor’s desk in September (Mercury News). The Governor signed it on Sept 30, 2026 (SB 1209; Governor’s Sept 30 update).
- SB 1301 (2026), on nonrenewals: the Orange County Register reported in July that it would require 90 days’ notice and a clear explanation before a nonrenewal (Orange County Register). The Governor signed it on Sept 27, 2026 (SB 1301; Governor’s Sept 27 update).
- His ballot statement says he also wrote laws for low-interest home-hardening loans and to help homeowners keep coverage when they fix hazards (Official Voter Information Guide).
Environment. He was a lead author of Proposition 4, the $10 billion climate and wildfire bond voters passed in 2024, and wrote a 2022 plastic-pollution law (Orange County Register; LA Times).
Ethics and enforcement records.
- FPPC fine, 2015. His first Senate campaign got reduced rent on two headquarters suites from Santa Monica Business Park Limited Partnership in 2014 and did not report the discount as an in-kind contribution on two pre-election statements on time. He, the committee and its treasurer paid $4,000 (FPPC stipulation, No. 14/1071).
- FPPC warning letter, 2014. His 2012 school board committee filed a pre-election statement late; the FPPC closed the case with a warning (FPPC warning letter, No. 14/576).
- Nothing found. No Los Angeles City Ethics Commission or FEC enforcement records name him. The State Bar lists Benjamin J. B. Allen, licensee 261555, UC Berkeley law, admitted December 2008, active, with no discipline (State Bar profile). Searched Sept. 30, 2026.
Jane Kim
Offices. San Francisco Board of Education, including president; San Francisco Board of Supervisors, 2011-2019 (Orange County Register).
As supervisor. She led the campaign that made the city’s community college tuition-free (LA Times). She also counts the state’s first $15 minimum wage ordinance and a tenant-protection ordinance against unjust evictions among her accomplishments (CalMatters; Official Voter Information Guide).
Other work. Attorney at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights; California political director for Sanders in 2020; California director of the Working Families Party (LA Times; CalMatters).
Ethics and enforcement records. No public enforcement actions were found in FPPC, Los Angeles City Ethics Commission or FEC records (searched Sept. 30, 2026; FPPC case search). The State Bar lists several lawyers named Jane Kim; none has public discipline, and the records do not say which one is her.
Where they stand
Issues come from the candidates’ interviews and questionnaires as reported by CalMatters (April, June), the Mercury News (Sept 20) and the Orange County Register (profiles, July 12), the Southern California News Group questionnaires (Allen, Kim) and the ballot statements (Official Voter Information Guide).
| Issue | Ben Allen | Jane Kim |
|---|---|---|
| Main plan for wildfire coverage | Keep a private market and cut risk: wildfire-mitigation grants for homes and neighborhoods, paid for by the state, insurers, utilities and fossil fuel companies (needs the Legislature) (Mercury News). Says Kim’s plan would “bankrupt the state” (Mercury News). | “Disaster Insurance for All”: a state program most homeowners pay into that covers wildfire and flood; private insurers keep other home coverage. Modeled on New Zealand; needs legislation and would be phased in (Mercury News; CalMatters). No cost estimate given. |
| Sustainable Insurance Strategy | Supports continuing it with enforceable commitments to write policies in hard-hit areas; would check insurers’ models against the state’s public model (SCNG questionnaire; Mercury News). | Says it does not work as structured; wants one public statewide catastrophe model all insurers must use (SCNG questionnaire). |
| FAIR Plan | More oversight and compliance monitoring (CalMatters). | Add consumer advocates, homeowners, labor and elected officials to its board; public meetings and financial data (SCNG questionnaire). |
| Insurers leaving the state | Insurers that get rate increases or other support should be required to keep writing and renewing policies in California; no exit penalty proposed (SCNG questionnaire). | An exit fee, and an insurer that leaves the home market must also leave auto and other lines (SCNG questionnaire). |
| Claims handling | Require insurers to explain claim denials and report disaster claims in real time; a consumer advocate post and more complaint staff in the department (CalMatters). Record: SB 495, SB 1209. | A public database of each insurer’s claims, denials, complaints and payout times; freeze rates when a policyholder files a claim (Orange County Register; CalMatters). |
| Rate review and consumer intervenors | Speed up rate reviews. Has “real concerns” about Lara’s rule limiting public challenges to increases under 7% (SCNG questionnaire). | Cap excessive insurer profits and executive pay (Official Voter Information Guide; Orange County Register). |
| Building in fire zones | Restrict new construction in high-risk zones and “carefully and sensitively” encourage people to move out of them; no specific method given (CalMatters). | No specific proposal. |
| Auto insurance | Enforce Prop 103’s safe-driver rating factors; crack down on repair billing fraud (SCNG questionnaire). | Open the low-cost auto program, now limited to drivers earning under $38,000, to more people; let insurers sell auto only if they write home policies (CalMatters). |
| Revolving door | Ban the Commissioner and staff from going straight to insurance jobs (CalMatters). | No specific proposal. |
| Insurance industry money | Pledged to take none (Official Voter Information Guide). Record: see Money for insurer gifts to his earlier committees that were moved into this one. | Pledged to take none, and no corporate PAC money (Official Voter Information Guide). |
On the other ballot measures
City of Los Angeles and County measures on the same ballot are left out; neither candidate took a position on them.
| Measure | Ben Allen | Jane Kim |
|---|---|---|
| Props 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44 and 45 | No stated position | No stated position |
Source: ballot arguments in the Official Voter Information Guide (neither candidate signed one) and the candidates’ ballot statements (Official Voter Information Guide).
Endorsements
Ben Allen
- Party: California Democratic Party, voted by its executive board in August 2026 (LA Times; party’s Aug 2, 2026 list).
- Officials: U.S. Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla; Senate President pro Tem Monique Limón; Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas; more than two dozen state lawmakers; former Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones (CalMatters).
- Unions and groups: State Building and Construction Trades Council, California Professional Firefighters (LA Times); Consumer Federation of California, California Federation of Teachers, Planned Parenthood and the Sierra Club (Official Voter Information Guide).
- Newspapers: the Mercury News and East Bay Times editorial boards, before the primary on May 15, 2026 (Mercury News, May 15) and again on Sept 26, 2026 (Mercury News, Sept 26); the Orange County Register (Southern California News Group) on Aug 16, 2026, after backing Patrick Wolff in the primary (Orange County Register).
Jane Kim
- Labor: California Labor Federation, voted at its August convention (LA Times); SEIU California, California Teachers Association, UFCW Western States Council (CalMatters); California Nurses Association (Official Voter Information Guide).
- Officials and others: U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Ro Khanna (CalMatters); Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, Controller Malia Cohen and Dolores Huerta (Official Voter Information Guide).
- Party: California Working Families Party (Mercury News).
- Newspapers: None found.
Polls
No public poll of this race was found. The LA Times reported on a July online poll done for Allen’s campaign; campaign polls are left out here (LA Times).
Money
| Ben Allen | Jane Kim | |
|---|---|---|
| Contributions received, Jan 1, 2025 to Sep 19, 2026 | $2,591,336 | $1,235,447 |
| Loans | none | $10,000 from Kim, Dec 31, 2025, still owed |
| Spent | $1,971,130 | $923,764 |
| Cash on hand, Sep 19, 2026 | $698,621 | $345,281 |
| Unpaid bills, Sep 19, 2026 | $6,610 | $31,520 |
| Late contributions reported after Sep 19 | $105,600 | $18,700 |
| Independent spending supporting | $1,084,706 | $534,735 |
| Independent spending opposing | none reported | $1,511,757 |
Source: Form 460 reports for Ben Allen for Insurance Commissioner 2026 and Jane Kim for Insurance Commissioner 2026, from the Cal-Access data export downloaded Sep 29, 2026. Contributions include non-monetary gifts. The contribution limit for Insurance Commissioner is $9,800 per election from a person and $19,600 from a small contributor committee (FPPC).
Who is giving
Method: itemized contributions (Schedules A and C) plus late-contribution reports. A donor is a normalized name plus ZIP code. “Maximum” means at least one gift at the $9,800 per-election limit. A ZIP counts as City of Los Angeles if at least half its area is inside the City. Allen’s totals include money moved in from his earlier Senate and Treasurer committees, credited to the original donors.
| Allen | Kim | |
|---|---|---|
| Donors (itemized) | 1,261 | 875 |
| Itemized dollars | $2,690,821 | $1,211,065 |
| From individuals | 52.4% | 60.7% |
| From unions and public-employee groups | 11.8% | 28.9% |
| From businesses and business or trade PACs | 31.4% | 8.3% |
| Donors with at least one maximum gift | 78, giving 37.5% of dollars | 44, giving 57.8% of dollars |
| Donors giving under $250 in total | 230 (18.2%), giving 1.0% of dollars | 392 (44.8%), giving 3.9% of dollars |
| City of Los Angeles | 371 donors, $760,470 (28.3%) | 47 donors, $83,170 (6.9%) |
| Rest of LA County | 335 donors, $530,164 (19.7%) | 37 donors, $55,456 (4.6%) |
| Rest of California | 443 donors, $1,061,921 (39.5%) | 681 donors, $945,662 (78.1%) |
| Out of state | 112 donors, $338,266 (12.6%) | 110 donors, $126,776 (10.5%) |
Source: itemized contributions in the Form 460 and 497 reports of Ben Allen for Insurance Commissioner 2026 and Jane Kim for Insurance Commissioner 2026, from the Cal-Access data export downloaded Sep 29, 2026.
Ben Allen
Nearly half of Allen’s itemized money (48.0%) comes from Los Angeles County, and 28.3% from the City of Los Angeles. Lawyers and law firms gave 11.1% ($297,437), led by one individual lawyer and the firm Roxborough, Pomerance, Nye & Adreani ($19,600 each). Finance donors gave 6.2% and real estate 4.1%; the largest single donor is the California Association of Realtors’ PAC ($39,000 across both elections). Other top donors at $19,600 include the California Jewish PAC, the Southern California District Council of Laborers and the Carpenters’ PAC. Tribes gave 2.0% (Cal-Access).
Insurance industry: $8,600 from eight donors, 0.3% of the total. Four insurers or insurer PACs, USAA ($3,000), Medical Insurance Exchange of California PAC ($1,500), Zurich American ($1,200) and ACE American ($1,200), gave to his 2022 Senate and 2026 Treasurer committees in 2021 and 2024. That money was moved into this committee on Dec. 31, 2025. No group of five donors from one employer giving within three days of each other was found (Cal-Access).
Jane Kim
Unions gave 28.9%. Four gave $39,200 each for both elections: the California Teachers Association, SEIU California, United Domestic Workers and PACE of California School Employees; SEIU Local 1021 gave $31,400. Several individual donors gave $19,600 each. The Working Families Party she led gave $19,600. Lawyers gave 11.0%, led by the firm Singleton Schreiber ($19,600). Insurance-linked donors gave $1,800 (0.1%), all individual agents and employees. More than three quarters of her money (78.1%) comes from California outside LA County. Shared employer and timing: five City and County of San Francisco employees gave $2,801 on March 18-20, 2026, and five people who list the same small firm gave $900 on Aug. 5-7, 2026 (Cal-Access).
Outside spending
| Committee | Supports or opposes | Amount | What it bought |
|---|---|---|---|
| JobsPAC (California Chamber of Commerce) | Opposes Kim | $1,508,481 | TV and digital ads, research |
| Californians for an Affordable Future (California Environmental Voters) | Supports Allen | $1,081,280 | Mailers, consulting, text messages, polling |
| California Working Families Party | Supports Kim | $349,477 | Digital ads, mail, phones |
| California Teachers Association IE Committee | Supports Kim | $150,195 | Digital and newspaper ads |
| Asian Americans for Representation | Supports Kim | $29,995 | Literature, digital ads |
| United Domestic Workers IE PAC | Supports Kim | $4,427 | Mailer, website |
| GrowSF Voter Guide | Supports Allen, opposes Kim | $3,276 | Digital ads |
| Other (CTA, CFT, Orange County Democrats) | Supports Kim / Allen | $642 / $150 | Website, voter guide, door hangers |
Source: independent expenditure reports (Forms 460 Schedule D, 496) on Cal-Access: JobsPAC; Californians for an Affordable Future; California Working Families Party; CTA IE Committee; Asian Americans for Representation; United Domestic Workers IE PAC; GrowSF Voter Guide; California Teachers Association; California Federation of Teachers COPE; Democratic Party of Orange County.
Funders. Californians for an Affordable Future has taken $1,970,887 from Christian Larsen, co-founder of Ripple, and $106,000 from California Environmental Voters’ committee, through Sept. 19, 2026 (Cal-Access). JobsPAC raised $24.4 million for many races; its largest donors are Edison International ($4.25 million), Sempra and PG&E ($3.25 million each), Sergey Brin ($3 million), Meta ($2.5 million) and the California Apartment Association’s committee ($1.84 million) (Cal-Access). The Working Families Party’s top donors are Patty Quillin ($350,000), the Jordan/Delaney Family Trust ($300,000), Quinn Delaney ($200,250) and Wayne Jordan ($200,000) (Cal-Access). The CTA committee’s money is unitemized, in gifts under $100 each (Cal-Access). Asian Americans for Representation is funded almost entirely by Melissa Ma of Asia Alternatives Management ($265,000 of $270,000) (Cal-Access).
Key moments
Debates and forums
- Palisades forum, March 27, 2026. Hosted by the Palisades Recovery Coalition, with Allen, Bradford, Wolff and Farren; Kim was the only Democratic candidate who did not attend (Orange County Register).
- Altadena forum, May 7, 2026. Allen, Bradford, Wolff and Vargas; Kim did not attend (Orange County Register). Allen said of the State Farm findings: “Any violations of the law should be received by our prosecutors” (Orange County Register).
- No debate between Allen and Kim was found. No video was found for either forum.
Events
-
Party convention splits (February 2026).
- What happened: no candidate reached 60% at the Democratic convention. Allen got 41.7% of delegates and Kim 40.2% (LA Times). In August the party’s executive board endorsed Allen and the Labor Federation endorsed Kim (LA Times).
- Allen: “proven leadership and real results matter.” Kim’s spokesperson: “Kim was the clear grassroots candidate” (LA Times).
-
$1.5 million against Kim from the Chamber’s JobsPAC (May 2026).
- What happened: the committee spent $1,508,481 on TV and digital ads opposing Kim from May 19 to 26, 2026, the last two weeks before the primary (JobsPAC on Cal-Access; Mercury News). Its largest donors are Edison International, Sempra and PG&E (Cal-Access).
- Kim: no response found.
-
Ripple co-founder’s money for Allen (May to September 2026).
- What happened: Christian Larsen has given the pro-Allen committee $1,970,887 through Sept. 19, 2026 (Californians for an Affordable Future on Cal-Access); the Mercury News reported that almost $1 million of it was reported in September (Mercury News).
-
Editorial boards on Kim’s public disaster plan (July to September 2026).
- What happened: the Orange County Register’s editorial board wrote that her plan “could trigger another exodus of insurers” (Orange County Register editorial). The Mercury News board called it “poorly defined” (Mercury News). Amy Bach of United Policyholders said, “One state cannot scrap the current system and build disaster insurance” (Mercury News). Jamie Court of Consumer Watchdog said it would shift disaster risk to taxpayers (LA Times).
- Kim: the plan would be phased in to keep it financially stable, and mitigation spending would hold claims down (Mercury News). “We have to explore some different models, because the current system is not working” (LA Times).