Kim Emerges With Early Edge in California Insurance Commissioner Race
SACRAMENTO, Calif. //BestWire// - Attorney, political organizer and a former San Francisco supervisor Jane Kim has emerged from California’s primary as one of the two leading candidates for insurance commissioner likely to face off in November’s general election.
Jane KimFollowing the primary elections, Kim and state Sen. Ben Allen, a Democrat representing District 24, emerged as the leading candidates in a crowded field of more than a dozen candidates that were vying to replace Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, who is term limited (BestWire, June 5, 2026). With 95% of the votes in, the Associated Press is projecting the two Democrats will face off in November's election.
As of June 12, Kim has 27.2% of the votes, compared with 19.3% for Allen. Insurance professional and Republican candidate Stacy Korsgaden has pulled in the third most votes, garnering 15.7% of votes, according to an unofficial tally from the California Secretary of State.
Kim served as a San Francisco supervisor from 2011 to 2019 and went on to become political director for Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign. Kim later joined the Sanders Institute and Young Elected Officials Network as a senior fellow and has worked as the California director for the Working Families Party during the past four years, according to her website.
Seeking the commissioner role aligns with Kim’s career-long dedication to economic equality and fairness, she said, adding the position sits at an incredible intersection of issues facing California.
“Whether it is to drive to work or school, own a home or open a business, you need insurance,” Kim told BestWire. “That is why we have to make insurance affordable and available to everyone.”
The ultimately goal, Kim said, is a system that works for “the 100%” and not just corporations.
Among her platform’s priorities, Kim is pitching voters on a single-payer National Disaster Insurance for All program, a public option automobile insurer and creating a public-facing dashboard detailing how insurers spend premium dollars.
The single-payer disaster coverage would work side-by-side with the private market in a program run by the state and funded through a levy on insurers, Kim said. The state would create its own risk pool and pay out claims.
“You would still go to State Farm, Allstate or another insurer, so it would not be different from the consumers’ perspective,” Kim said.
She said while insurers use premiums to build reserves, they also turn profits from investments that have seen strong returns. Under her plan, the state would take a portion of the premium and invest it.
“Instead of giving that excess capital to shareholders, the state would invest back into resiliency,” Kim said.
Under the program, the state would be incentivized to invest in risk prevention as a means to reduce its claims expenses. This differs from insurers’ loss aversion reflexes, which can see them leave markets as their risk profiles worsen.
Kim said New Zealand operates a similar model and that exploring a nonprofit reinsurance program is also something she would consider.
“The current system is failing because it was not designed for modern climate catastrophes. It was designed for conditions 40 years ago,” Kim said.
The single-payer system would also be able to take on properties facing higher risks, which would alleviate pressure on the California Fair Plan by keeping more policies in the voluntary market, Kim said.
“Depopulating the Fair Plan will also, of course, involve working side by side with insurance stakeholders, consumers and the state legislature,” Kim said.
If elected, Kim said she would look to expand California’s Low Cost Auto Program into a public option available to anyone. The program currently offers coverage to drivers with valid licenses and vehicles valued at $25,000 or less. Income eligibility requirements are based on household sizes, with a single person facing a cut off of $39,900 and a four-person household having an $82,500 threshold, according to the program’s website.
Concerning the insurer data dashboard, Kim said the goals are to empower consumers through education, create more transparency into the market and to encourage insurers to improve, for example, claims processing speeds.
“If consumers care whether premium dollars go to fossil fuels, that is something we could put out on the dashboard,” Kim said. “Hopefully it could also incentivize certain insurers to take up certain types of behaviors, like being quick to pay claims.”
As part of her campaign, Kim has refused corporate donations or funding from the fossil fuel industry. She said the commissioner’s office is a watch dog for everyday Californians, and a key part of that duty is building trust.
“We want to fight for everyday Californians to thrive,” Kim said. “The state is too expensive, and expensive homes, expensive groceries, expensive insurance are failures of policy.”
Kim’s other policy ideas include setting minimum loss ratio standards for home and auto insurance. Similar to medical loss ratio requirements health insurers face, the rules would see auto insurers have a 70% minimum requirement calculated over a three-year period. The home insurance minimum loss ratio would be 65%, according to Kim’s campaign.
While votes are still being tallied, Kim said she is very excited about the results so far. She is up by a 19-point margin in her base of San Francisco and is carrying an 11-point margin in Los Angeles, which falls in Allen’s Senate district.
“I’m not just winning in San Francisco, but I’m also winning in my opponents county because the message is resonating across California,” Kim said. “People want someone to take on the status quo that is making life more expensive and put forward some ambitious ideas for an economy that works for everyone. I’m running a platform to make that reality in California.”
Attempts to gain comment from Allen on the primary results were unsuccessful.
(By Steve Hallo, senior associate editor, BestWire: Steve.Hallo@ambest.com)