State Sen. Ben Allen is running for California insurance commissioner. The election is Nov. 3, 2026.
Allen, a Democrat, faces Jane Kim, also a Democrat, in the general election. He is certified for the ballot, according to BallotReady election data.
Allen said on his campaign website that he would support resilient redevelopment in post-disaster areas like the Palisades and Altadena "as models for safer, more fire resilient, more insurable communities of the future."
Candidate information
- Party: Democratic
- Current office: State senator, California Senate District 24 (first elected 2014, serving third term)
- District: Westside, Hollywood, South Bay and Santa Monica Mountains communities of Los Angeles County
- Education: Bachelor's in history, Harvard University (2000); master's in Latin American studies, University of Cambridge (2001); juris doctor, University of California, Berkeley (2008)
- Fellowships: Aspen Institute-Rodel Fellow; Truman National Security Project Fellow; senior fellow, Humanity in Action, an international human rights organization
- Languages: Fluent in Spanish
Experience and public service
Allen was first elected to the state Senate in 2014, according to his Senate biography. Before that, he served as a board member for the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District from 2008 to 2014 and as a voting student member of the University of California Board of Regents.
His legal career includes work as a litigator at Bryan Cave LLP, of counsel at Richardson and Patel LLP from 2011 to 2014, and an attorney at the Spark Program. He also served as a judicial clerk at the United Nations' International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
Allen taught as adjunct faculty at UCLA Law School from 2011 to 2014. Earlier in his career, he worked as communications director for U.S. Rep. Jose Serrano of New York and as staff on the Latin American team at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs.
On the issues
The following positions are drawn from Allen's responses on his campaign website via BallotReady. All statements reflect the candidate's own claims.
Insurance rate reform and wildfire modeling
Allen said he would implement reforms allowing wildfire catastrophe modeling and the inclusion of reinsurance costs in rate applications. He said this would align California with national standards and ensure rates accurately reflect true climate risk. He also said the Department of Insurance must use "scientifically developed data and feedback" as it implements the state's Sustainable Insurance Strategy.
Wildfire resilience and lowering premiums
Allen said he would expand programs like Safer from Wildfires, the California Safe Homes grant program and vegetation management programs to help residents lower risk and premiums. He said hardening one home at a time would not solve the problem. He said he would work with the Legislature, the governor and local governments on neighborhood-scale programs to reduce disaster risk, increase community resiliency and bring down insurance rates.
Insurer transparency and accountability
Allen said he would require insurers to clearly explain claim denials and maintain real-time reporting of delays and outstanding claims after disasters. He also said he would invest in staffing and digital infrastructure to handle rate requests, consumer complaints and disaster claims more efficiently.
Climate risk and fossil fuel accountability
Allen said he supports efforts to ensure fossil fuel companies bear appropriate financial responsibility for climate damages driving up insurance costs for everyone. He said he would restore past transparency programs that revealed insurers' fossil fuel investments and require regular, gold-standard stress testing to prevent insurers from underwriting or bankrolling risky fossil projects.
Endorsements
Allen has received endorsements from the California Democratic Party, the California Teachers' Association, the California Labor Federation, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, the Los Angeles County Democrats, the Communication Workers of America and several Democratic clubs and advocacy organizations, according to BallotReady data. Endorsements are claimed by the endorsing organizations.
Candidate issue responses were collected via BallotReady questionnaires and reflect the candidate's own statements. The Pasadena Ledger did not interview the candidate for this profile.
