Insurance commissioner candidate reveals how she’ll rip up system

Republican candidate for California Insurance Commissioner Stacy Korsgaden has warned she would crack down on insurance fraud and conduct a full audit of the California Department of Insurance if elected.

“The reason that I’m running is that we have a situation that I cannot sit back anymore and watch, the inexperience in the policies that are being implemented throughout the state. That’s why I’m getting involved,” she said during a town hall last week in Tuolumne County.

Korsgaden, one of 11 candidates seeking to replace termed-out California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, spoke at the Tuolumne Resilience Center during an event hosted by Tuolumne County Supervisor Steve Griefer.

The Republican candidate highlighted her decades of experience in the insurance industry, saying she attended California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, before launching an insurance agency that she later sold in 2023 after it grew into a nationally recognized business.

Korsgaden argued California’s insurance crisis has been building for decades, pointing to regulations created under Proposition 103, the voter-approved 1988 law that expanded oversight of the insurance industry.

While she said the measure was intended to protect consumers, Korsgaden argued the state’s regulatory environment eventually became too restrictive and contributed to rising premiums and fewer insurers operating in California.

She claimed the situation reached a breaking point in 2023 when major insurers, including State Farm, stopped writing new homeowner policies in California, creating what she described as a ripple effect across the market and pushing more residents onto the state’s FAIR Plan insurance program.

Korsgaden said one of her top priorities would be attracting more insurance carriers back into California to increase competition and stabilize rates.

As part of that effort, she proposed creating a new division within the Department of Insurance focused on encouraging new investment and helping additional insurance companies enter the California market.

She also pledged to aggressively pursue insurance fraud investigations and review departmental spending and operations to improve efficiency.

Her comments comes as regulators in the Golden State move to fine and potentially revoke the license of State Farm over alleged mishandling of claims tied to the 2025 wildfires, which killed at least 31 people.

Korsgaden discussed wildfire prevention work underway in the county and argued communities investing in fuel reduction and fire mitigation efforts should receive insurance incentives.

Korsgaden praised those local efforts and told attendees that Tuolumne County would be among her first stops if she is elected.

“You will be the first county that I come see, and I will bring insurance companies here,” she said.

During the forum, Korsgaden also expressed support for financial assistance programs aimed at helping homeowners pay for fire-hardening improvements, including possible tax rebates and additional state funding for wildfire mitigation projects.

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