This November, for the first time ever, there are two Democratic candidates on the ballot for the under-the-radar but important job of California insurance commissioner: State Sen. Ben Allen and former San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim.
Whoever takes on the role will inherit an insurance market in turmoil. California homeowner insurance premiums have risen 84 percent between 2020 and March 2026. Many insurance firms have cancelled California policies or refused to write new ones, as policyholders pay the price for inflation, increased wildfire risk and other environmental risk factors.
Kim and Allen emerged as the top two candidates in a crowded primary field — Kim took roughly 27 percent of the vote, and Allen 19 percent.
The two agree insurance commissioner is “the most powerful and important position that most people have never heard of.” They disagree on what to do with that power.
Kim is running a progressive campaign. One of her central policy proposals is state-run single-payer natural disaster insurance. All existing homes would be automatically covered, funded by a two-part insurance premium: the first is priced based on risk, while the second is based on property value.
“We would operate like an insurance company, except it would be nonprofit and excess capital would always come back to the community, and not flow to shareholders and CEOs,” Kim said.
The policy would need to be approved by the California state legislature. Allen called Kim’s plan an “unprecedented idea that has very little chance of ever getting passed.”
The disagreement highlights a core difference between the candidates: Kim seeks to disrupt the status quo, while Allen focuses on strengthening the regulatory powers that are already part of the job.
Allen said that he plans to rely on his legislative experience to hold insurance companies accountable. He authored Senate Bill 1209, which was signed into law this September and allows the insurance commissioner to order insurance companies to fix issues that arose during investigations without going through a lengthy legal process.
“I’ve got a real record of accomplishment in insurance reforms and pro-consumer policies,” Allen said. “I’ll be ready on day one to continue that work if I’m elected to this position.”
The California insurance commissioner wasn’t always an elected position. The current commissioner, Ricardo Lara, will term out in January. He is the eighth person to hold the title since Californians voted to pass Proposition 103 in 1988, changing the position from governor-appointed to elected.
California is one of only 11 states that elect insurance commissioners, and by far the state with the largest insurance market.
The insurance commissioner leads California’s insurance department, which regulates home, auto, life, workers’ compensation and a few kinds of health insurance, making sure policies are available and premiums are affordable.
Jamie Court, president of the California-based nonprofit consumer advocacy firm Consumer Watchdog, said the position has “huge” regulatory powers that “control an awful lot of the money that comes out of people’s pockets.”
“There’s not enough focus on the existing powers of the office and how to use them to help people,” Court said. “They have all the power in the world; they just need to use it.”
Kim is endorsed by, among others, the California Teachers Association, the California Nurses Association and the California Working Families Party, where she served as state director from January 2022 through January 2026. She is also backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, whom she joined at a political rally earlier this month in support of Proposition 40, the one-time 5 percent tax on billionaires.
“We just want somebody who’s going to go in there, take on the status quo, fight for working people in the office,” said Jorge Contreras, state director of the California Working Families Party. “We want a changemaker in Sacramento, and we believe that Jane is that person.”
Allen’s list of endorsements include the California Democratic Party, California Environmental Voters, the Sierra Club, California Professional Firefighters and the San Francisco Chronicle.
“Ben Allen is the person in this race who has demonstrated not only the first-hand experience of working with consumers, but drafting and putting forward and passing legislation that protects them,” said Matt Abularach-Macias, campaigns director of California Environmental Voters.
Allen has received more backing from PACs, whereas outside spending to support Kim is outweighed by outside spending against her. Californians for an Affordable Future, a PAC backed by crypto billionaire Chris Larsen, has amassed roughly $2 million for Allen.
Despite the differences in funding, a recent poll showed that Kim has a small lead over Allen, but over half of voters remain undecided. Because two Democrats are vying for this position, it could be Republican and Independent voters that determine the race, said Court.
No matter who wins on Nov. 3, it will be a historic election. Kim would be the first woman to take on the role, and Allen would be the first commissioner whose own home was directly impacted by a major natural disaster.
“All we need is a competent regulator at the helm to fix this thing,” Court said. “And I think that’s either of them.”
