Democrats Jane Kim and Ben Allen led voting in Tuesday’s race for California insurance commissioner, making them the current favorites to advance to the Nov. 3 primary.
However, insurance agent Stacy A. Korsgaden, R, was running a close third.
The top two candidates in the primary advance to November’s general election. All precincts have partially reported in, but there are more votes to be counted. Many California residents vote by mail, and ballots postmarked on or before election day have one week to arrive.
The insurance commissioner race drew 11 candidates covering several parties, and backgrounds that included two insurance agents, a former insurance broker, a state legislator and a former state legislator.
Addressing the state’s “insurance crisis,” which took on a bigger priority following the devastating January 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires, was the most prevalent message coming from most of the field.
Related: California Taking Action Against State Farm Over LA Wildfire Claims
The L.A. wildfires are seen as a low in an ongoing homeowners insurance crisis in California. Several carriers pulled back or halted writing new policies in the state, and regulators responded with measures including enabling quicker rate request reviews, allowing forward-looking catastrophe modeling and other steps. As a result, some carriers have returned to writing new homeowners policies.
Kim, D, an attorney/consumer advocate, had 23.7% of the vote. Kim served on San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors from 2011 and 2019. She has also ran for state Senate and for San Francisco mayor.
Allen, who has been as a member of the California state Senate since 2014, had 19.2% of the vote. He campaigned on plans that include restoring a competitive insurance market, ensuring people are treated fairly after disasters and building resilient communities.
His plan for Fire Mitigation Partnerships, SB 1297, brings together insurers, utilities, local governments and community organizations to pool resources and improve community-scale hardening efforts. He advanced SB 894 to support home hardening through low-interest financing.
Korsgaden, R, an insurance agent, was running a close third with 17.5% of the vote. She has held an active California Insurance license since 1988, and built a full-service insurance agency.
She plans to restore competition and bring insurers back to California, expand product availability, change the culture of the Department of Insurance to be service focused and crack down on fraud.
Related: Travelers to Expand Homeowners Insurance Offering in California
Sean Robert Howell, R., a cybersecurity CEO, had 8.7% of the vote. Merritt Farren, R, a consumer advocate/attorney, had 7.3% of the vote.
Patrick Wolff, D, a financial analyst, had 7% of the vote. Wolff built an auto and home insurance brokerage in 2001, and over the last 20-plus years, he’s spent time analyzing insurance companies and insurance markets as a financial analyst. Sean Lee, R., a financial services executive, had 6.2% of the vote.
Other candidates were Steve Bradford, D., and education organization board member. Bradford previously served in the California State Senate, the state Assembly and on the Gardena City Council. He had 4.6% of the vote.
Eduardo “Lalo” Vargas, Peace and Freedom, a science teacher had 2.6% of the vote. Eric Thor Aarnio, R., a contractor, had 2.1% of the vote. Keith Davis, American Independent, an insurance agent, had 1% of the vote.
Topics
California
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