The leading candidate running for California insurance commissioner would seek to replace a significant share of private wildfire insurance with a new, state-run entity.
Democrat Jane Kim, a San Francisco civil rights lawyer endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), has proposed a public insurance program that would cover wildfire damage for all California homes. Modeled on government-backed insurance entities in Europe and New Zealand, the program is needed as private insurers retrench from the state after a series of devastating wildfires, Kim said.
“If the market can’t fix it, then government should,” Kim said in an interview. “I don’t think that tinkering with the system is going to make [insurance] affordable and available.”
The California Legislature would need to approve Kim’s program.
