Kim Declares Victory in California Insurance Commissioner Race

Jane Kim claimed victory over fellow Democrat Ben Allen in the race for California insurance commissioner on Friday. Kim was up by more than 400,000 votes as of Friday afternoon. As of Wednesday morning, 99.8% of precincts had reported in, though a large number of votes remain uncounted. Kim had 52.7% of the vote to Allen’s 47.3%. The spread has continued to grow in Kim’s favor in recent days. On Tuesday, Kim had led by 265,000 votes. “Insurance was created as a shared promise. We pay into the system so that when the worst happens, we’re protected,” Kim said in a statement. “Californians have kept our end of that bargain, but insurance companies have broken their side of the promise by denying, delaying and underpaying valid claims and dropping coverage.” Jane Kim Following Kim’s victory declaration, Allen’s campaign released the following statement: “Earlier today, I called Jane Kim to congratulate her. Jane ran a strong race, and it appears that she has won. Assuming that is the case, I desperately want her to succeed, because if she succeeds, the state succeeds – especially the families in need that we’ve been fighting for across the state.” Kim and Allen advanced to the primary in the race for insurance commissioner. The top two together garnered more than 45% of the votes cast in the June 2 primary. The winner replaces outgoing commissioner Ricardo Lara, who is term limited. Kim was pushing a publicly backed single-payer disaster insurance system. Ben Allen Allen is a state Legislator who has authored several bills to address insurance affordability in the state, including creating new home-hardening incentives. The American Property Casualty Insurance Association issued a statement congratulating Kim. “We congratulate Jane Kim on her election as California’s next Insurance Commissioner and look forward to working together to address the state’s ongoing insurance crisis,” the statement, from APCIA’s Denni Ritter, department vice president for state government relations. “While recent reforms are beginning to stabilize the market, the insurance crisis is far from over, and a full recovery will take time. Protecting this progress is critical. Costly new mandates or regulatory actions that drive up costs or limit coverage options risk reversing this progress and worsening the crisis. Insurers remain committed to working with Commissioner-elect Kim, Governor-elect Becerra and Legislative leaders to restore a stable market and ensure every Californian has access to the coverage they need to protect their homes, cars and small businesses.” Topics California