Jane Kim leads Ben Allen by 168,000 votes in insurance race

Jane Kim holds a lead of approximately 168,000 votes over Ben Allen in the race for California insurance commissioner. The count stands at 11 p.m. on Tuesday, with 5.8 million votes cast statewide. Roughly 76% of precincts have partially reported their tallies.

The contest has drawn more attention and funding than previous cycles for this office. Last year's wildfires in Los Angeles County drove up premiums for homeowners, turning a traditionally low-profile job into a focal point for state politics. Both candidates spent the campaign discussing how to lower costs for residents.

Kim, who is 49 years old, is a former San Francisco supervisor from Lakeport. She gathered with supporters in a neighborhood bar in San Francisco to watch the results. In a statement to the Southern California News Group, she described her position as cautiously optimistic. "Californians want an independent Insurance Commissioner who will fight for them, not for billionaires and corporations," Kim said.

Her platform centers on a single-payer model for home and disaster insurance. Kim proposes replacing the current private market and the FAIR Plan with a centralized, state-managed system. This system would make coverage automatic for all residents, using a shared risk pool. Premiums would be calculated based on property cost and individual risk levels.

She argues that pooling premiums into a public system allows the state to fund home hardening, fuel management, and community resilience directly. Kim supports capping executive pay in the insurance industry. She believes the current market often pads executive salaries while leaving families vulnerable during disasters.

Ben Allen, 48, is a state senator representing parts of Santa Monica and Los Angeles. He watched the results from a gathering in Venice. Allen called the race a dead heat, noting that millions of votes remain to be counted. "It's a 51% to 49% race," Allen said. He emphasized that he wants to be in the lead but remains confident in the process.

Allen opposes capping executive pay. Instead, he wants to ensure that excessive salaries are not passed on to consumers while insurers claim financial hardship. His plan focuses on reducing risk through legislative changes. These include updating building codes for fire-resistant materials and revising land-use policies to limit construction in flammable areas near wildlands.

The winner will inherit the role of regulating auto, life, property, and casualty insurance. The incoming commissioner must also address the FAIR Plan, the state's insurer of last resort. The plan raised rates by 29.1% for certain homeowners starting Oct. 15. This was nearly two weeks before the election.

The Secretary of State's office will continue tallying votes daily. Results must be certified by Dec. 11. This is the first time two candidates from the same political party have faced each other in this race since the position became elected in 1990. The 2026 field included 11 candidates seeking to replace term-limited incumbent Ricardo Lara.