Your guide to the California insurance commissioner’s race: Who will replace Ricardo Lara?

The California Department of Insurance calls itself the largest consumer protection agency in the state, with nearly 1,400 employees regulating home, auto and other insurance. But the election to replace outgoing Commissioner Ricardo Lara is virtually about only one topic: home insurance.

That’s because of the January 2025 wildfires that burned more than 16,000 homes and killed 31 people in Pacific Palisades, Altadena and nearby communities.

Policyholders angry over how insurers have handled their claims demanded Lara step down, sued insurers and called for reforms — and that’s aside from questions over how to ensure Californians have an affordable and competitive choice of carriers as fire-wary insurers write fewer policies.

California

Voter guide to the 2026 California primary election

California’s primary election takes place on June 2. Learn about L.A.’s city and county races and others for state offices.

May 1, 2026

State Sen. Ben Allen (D, El Segundo) addresses the crowd during the California Democratic Convention in San Francisco.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Ben Allen, 48, is a third-term Democratic state senator who 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 previously made a name for himself on environmental issues, including leading the effort to put a successful $10-billion climate bond on the 2024 ballot. A native and resident of Santa Monica, Allen attended Harvard and has a law degree from UC Berkeley. He previously served on the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board. He is endorsed by California U.S. Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla.

Jane Kim is running for California insurance commissioner.

(Jane Kim)

Jane Kim, 48, is a Democrat from San Francisco who served as a city supervisor (2011-19) and has a progressive record. Her accomplishments include leading a groundbreaking campaign to make the city’s community college tuition free. She served as California political director for Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential run and is endorsed by Sanders, the progressive independent senator from Vermont. The daughter of Korean immigrants, she attended Stanford and has a law degree from UC Berkeley. Prior to her political career, she was an attorney at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and is a leader of the Working Families Party.

Steven Bradford is running for California insurance commissioner.

(Steve Bradford)

Steven Bradford, 66, served as a Democratic state senator from 2016 to 2024, representing parts of south Los Angeles County and the South Bay. Key accomplishments included a bill that created the first statewide process to decertify police officers who commit wrongdoing. He previously served in the Assembly and in 1997 was the first African American elected to the city council of Gardena, a community he grew up in and where he continues to reside. He worked at IBM and Southern California Edison before entering politics full time. A graduate of Cal State Dominguez Hills, he is endorsed by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.

Patrick Wolff is running for California insurance commissioner.

Patrick Wolff, 58, is a Democrat, chartered financial analyst and real estate investor who’d never run for public office but has been active in local San Francisco politics. He serves on the citizen oversight committee for the San Francisco Unified School District bond program. 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 — relevant experience, he says. A graduate of Harvard, he has donated $500,000 to his campaign and loaned it another $100,000.

Robert Howell is running for California insurance commissioner.

(Robert Howell)

Robert Howell, 71, of San José, was the Republican candidate in the 2022 general election for insurance commissioner, which he lost to Lara by 20 points. He is the owner of Silicon Valley electronics testing firm Exatron and has been involved in GOP politics for years. A populist, Howell founded one of the first Tea Party groups in the state and is a member of the Santa Clara County Republican Central Committee. Howell also has run for state Senate and lost. He is endorsed by the conservative California Republican Assembly.

Stacy Korsgaden is running for California insurance commissioner.

(Stacy A. Korsgaden)

Stacy Korsgaden, 62, is a Republican and Grover Beach financial adviser who owned a Farmers Insurance agency for decades. A free market advocate who cites her industry experience, Korsgaden says Proposition 103, which regulates the industry, has limited the availability of insurance. She has lost in runs for Grover Beach mayor and for a seat on the San Luis Obispo County board of supervisors. A graduate of Cal Poly, she is endorsed by state Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones. Korsgaden attended the Jan. 6, 2021 rally at the U.S. Capitol but said she abhors the violence that took place. She is endorsed by the California Republican Party.

Merritt Farren is running for California insurance commissioner.

(Merritt Farren)

Merritt Farren, 65, is 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. Last year, he intervened as a consumer advocate in State Farm’s request for a rate hike, seeking to tie it to its claims-handling practices. He points to his experience as an in-house legal counsel for Amazon and Disney as good preparation for running the insurance department. He is a graduate of Stanford and obtained a law degree from UC Berkeley.

Also running are Republicans Sean Lee, a financial services executive, and Eric Thor Aarnio, a contractor. Eduardo “Lalo” Vargas, a science teacher, is the Peace and Freedom Party candidate. Keith W. Davis, an insurance agent, is the American Independent Party candidate.

The centerpiece of Kim’s campaign is a so-called “single-payer” government plan to handle wildfire and other disasters, which she believes would be superior to the private market, which would be left to handle other homeowner claims. Farren is proposing Cal Reinsure, a state-backed reinsurance authority that would spread wildfire risk away from individual insurers, which he believes would prompt them to write more policies. Korsgaden has a free market approach that involves establishing a New Business Division in the insurance department to encourage more carriers with more diverse products to enter the market.

All the candidates want to improve on California’s Safer from Wildfires program that offers modest discounts for homeowners who install closed eaves and take other measures to make their homes wildfire resistant. Allen introduced a bill to provide low-interest loans to help pay for the improvements, Wolff advocates tax credits and Kim says her single-payer disaster plan would invest in such measures. Howell believes policyholders who take such steps should be offered a “guaranteed path to coverage.”

Following widespread complaints that insurers have delayed, denied and underpaid January 2025 fire claims, tougher regulation of insurers is a common campaign plank. Wolff wants to publish an annual report card of insurer behavior, while Kim similarly wants to create an insurer “dashboard” and penalize delays. Farren also wants to impose financial penalties for bad behavior. Several candidates call for more transparency in the claims process. Allen has authored a bill requiring insurers to provide policyholders a chance to fix problems causing a loss of coverage. Howell wants insurers to share every version of loss estimates while claims are being reviewed.

The state’s insurer of last resort has more than doubled its membership since 2023 to more than 640,000 policies as insurers decline to insure homeowners in fire-prone neighborhoods. That has happened despite an insurance department plan to stem the growth of the plan, which offers basic but costly policies.

Bradford believes the plan should help pay for homeowners’ wildfire mitigation efforts to make properties more attractive to insurers, while a public-private partnership could help share the risk of ensuring such homes. Allen says a “suite of policies” that lower climate risks, make communities more fire resilient and require insurers to cover fire-hardened homes is needed. Kim says her single-payer public insurer to cover disasters would shrink the plan, similar to an argument Farren makes about his proposal for a public reinsurer.

The January 2025 fires not only burned down homes but also made thousands uninhabitable because of smoke damage, leading to lawsuits by policyholders who alleged insurers will not test for toxins and properly clean their homes. A March bill sponsored by Lara would establish toxin limits and mandate testing before and after cleanups.

Bradford supports the legislation but wants to make sure that it does not lead to litigation from owners of older homes already contaminated by lead paint and asbestos. Allen and Wolff want to ensure the standards are science-based, while Farren says the issue should have been dealt with already by executive action and is concerned the “complicated” bill will not speed cleanups. Howell, concerned about costs, suggests smoke damage could be a supplemental policy. Kim says her single-payer plan would address the issue and until then the standards should ensure a smoke-damaged home is safe to return to.