Ben Allen explains why he should be California’s next insurance commissioner | CA Politics 360

Ben Allen, a current state senator, is running for insurance commissioner, citing his experience during last year’s Los Angeles-area wildfires as a key motivator for his campaign.

For the first time, voters will decide between two Democrats for the statewide office, as Kim faces State Sen. Ben Allen in the general election in November. The two are vying for the position as California faces a homeowners insurance crisis and as the state continues to grapple with the loss of several private insurance companies following devastating wildfires.

In an interview on California Politics 360, Allen confirmed the Los Angeles wildfires prompted him to run.

“It was a terrible experience. A big part of this has been insurance problems. Lack of insurance, underinsurance, insurance nickel and diming people, refusing to pay out on time,” Allen, who lived a block away from one of the evacuation zones, said “I don’t think I’d be running for this if it weren’t for that experience.”

Allen has served in the California Senate for over a decade, during which California’s homeowner insurance crisis has worsened, with several insurance companies leaving the state. When asked if the Legislature could have done more to address the issue, Allen said, “I think so. Quite frankly, the crisis has gotten discernibly bad in the last couple of years. It’s not that the seeds weren’t already planted, but it’s really broken out in a major way over the last couple of years.”

If elected, Allen said he would take immediate action, including speeding up the rate review process, expanding customer service operations, and strengthening enforcement.

“There’s only 34 people handling the incoming calls from working Californians every day. That’s less than one per 1 million Californians,” Allen said. “We need to really ramp up that operation. I think we need to beef up the enforcement division.”

Allen also emphasized the importance of incentivizing risk reduction efforts across the state and said he would kick-start negotiations with the insurance industry to try to stabilize the market.

“I don’t think we can ultimately ask people to keep putting in all this investment, both on the community level or on the individual level, to reduce their fire risk if they don’t feel really confident there’s going to be available, affordable insurance there waiting for them on the back end,” he said.

Allen plans to build on the work of current Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, who introduced a sustainable insurance strategy allowing companies to factor in catastrophe risks when setting rates. However, Allen said the policy needs refinement.

“It allowed for the insurance industry to get credit for writing policies in high-risk areas, but they were basically writing policies in the lower-risk parts of the high-risk ZIP codes,” he said, noting investigations done by the New York Times and Los Angeles Times on the issue. “We’ve got to tighten up the rules.”

Allen also addressed Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new proposal to alter utility company payouts when they’re to blame for a wildfire. The governor is proposing to put a cap on how much insurance companies can get from the money to, in part, ensure victims are prioritized in the pay-out process.

“It’s almost like a balloon,” Allen said when asked for his stance on the proposal. “If we squeeze the balloon over here to solve for the electricity-related rate problems, the last thing I want to see is creating a whole new set of problems on the insurance side,” Allen said. “The insurance system’s already on the brink, too. So, we’ve got to be really careful about how we manage this.”

He contrasted his track record with that of his opponent, Jane Kim’s proposal for a state-run single-payer disaster insurance program.

“What she’s proposing with disaster insurance doesn’t exist anywhere in the world,” Allen said. “I’m someone with a bold plan too, but it’s actually grounded in reality. It’s grounded in what can be done.”

Allen said he would request a modest budget increase of $10 million for the insurance commissioner’s office to improve staffing and customer service. Allen said he would also want to establish a consumer advocacy position in the insurance commissioner’s office, similar to what the California Public Utilities Commission has now.

“It is unacceptable to have less than one per 1 million Californians answering those phones at the department,” he said. “I really want a much more robust customer service orientation at the department.”

Allen concluded by emphasizing his commitment to affordability and consumer protection.

“This is all about affordability and keeping rates low, but we’ve got to figure out a sensible and workable path to have a vibrant, robust, competitive, successful market that will provide the underpinnings of affordable rates for people,” he said.

KCRA 3 Political Director Ashley Zavala reports in-depth coverage of top California politics and policy issues. She is also the host of “California Politics 360.” Get informed each Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on KCRA 3.