BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The battle over California's soaring insurance rates is taking center stage in Bakersfield, where two candidates for state insurance commissioner are making their case to voters with competing plans to lower costs.
Jane Kim, a former San Francisco supervisor and an attorney, came to Bakersfield Wednesday morning. Her visit came two weeks after state Sen. Ben Allen campaigned here. Both candidates say they will bring costs down if elected.
Kim wants to save homeowners on their insurance premiums by starting a California-based nonprofit disaster insurance program.
When I asked how she would pay for it in year one, she said the state can pull from money that already exists — before capital gains are put in.
"If we work and we organize and we unite and we stay together, we can win real tangible changes that makes the differences in the lives in our community," Kim said.
Kim explained how the funding would work in the program's first year. "We spent $18 billion on homeowners insurance here in California. We estimate three billion of that covers wildfires. We're proposing that California would keep that three point six billion that homeowners are already giving to a billion dollar industry — and keep it here in California — and on year one that would be enough to cover a wildfire year in California," Kim said.
Allen, a state senator, is also running for the seat and has a different plan to lower costs. Unlike Kim, Allen wants to keep the current private insurance market. He wants to bring more insurance companies into California to keep some of that money within the state, saying more competition would lead to lower rates.
He also wants big corporations to help bring those rates down for everyone. "I want a system that better responds to people that's more affordable, more accessible, that really responds to people's needs — and that's why I'm running for state's commissioner," Allen said.
"I — as the insurance commissioner — I'm going to demand that the insurance industry — that they're at the table. Not taking no for an answer. That they have to be part of the solution for the communities throughout the Central Valley. They are putting in the hard work to reduce the risk. They need to be stepping up to invest in that risk deduction work — as do the utilities, the fossil fuel industry, and other groups as well," Allen said.
The last day to cast a ballot is Nov. 3.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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