California voters elect Jane Kim as insurance commissioner, AP projects

By Jose Fabian

Jane Kim will be California’s next insurance commissioner, the Associated Press projects. Kim had already declared victory in the race on Friday, with state Sen. Ben Allen conceding the same day.

As insurance commissioner, Kim will lead the California Department of Insurance in regulating insurance companies, enforcing state laws and responding to consumer complaints.  

Kim is a former San Francisco supervisor and ran on a proposal that would fundamentally change how Californians are covered for disasters such as wildfires, earthquakes and floods.

“I don’t think that just tinkering with the system is going to solve this systematic failure that is the insurance industry,” Kim said in an October interview with CBS News Bay Area.

Her proposal is for a public insurance pool to provide coverage for major disasters. Kim’s campaign called the idea, “Natural Disaster Insurance for All.”

“Ideally, it would be one bill that would allow the state of California to open a public nonprofit insurance program, and it would be funded by premiums the same way the private market is,” Kim explained.

The proposal is separate from California’s FAIR Plan, which is not a state-run insurance company.