State Sen. Ben Allen, a Democrat representing the South Bay and Westside, is running for insurance commissioner in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. He faces fellow Democrat Jane Kim.

Allen, first elected to Senate District 24 in 2014, is serving his third term representing communities across the Westside, Hollywood, the South Bay and the Santa Monica Mountains. His campaign website centers on wildfire insurance reform, insurer accountability and modernizing the Department of Insurance.

Candidate information

  • Party: Democratic
  • Current office: California state senator, District 24 (first elected 2014)
  • Education: Bachelor's degree in history, Harvard University (2000); master's degree in Latin American studies, University of Cambridge (2001); juris doctor, University of California, Berkeley (2008)
  • Hometown roots: Grew up in Senate District 24 and graduated from Santa Monica High School in 1996, according to his Senate biography
  • Fellowships: Aspen Institute Rodel Fellow; Truman National Security Project Fellow; senior fellow, Humanity in Action

Experience and public service

Allen served as a board member of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District from 2008 to 2014. He was a voting student member of the University of California Board of Regents and worked as communications director for U.S. Rep. Jose Serrano of New York.

His legal career includes work as a litigator at Bryan Cave LLP, of counsel at Richardson and Patel LLP, and adjunct faculty at UCLA Law School. He also served as a judicial clerk at the United Nations' International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and worked 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 to a BallotReady questionnaire and his campaign website. All statements reflect the candidate's own claims.

Insurance rate reform and wildfire risk

Allen said he would implement reforms allowing wildfire catastrophe modeling and the inclusion of reinsurance costs in rate applications, aligning California with national standards. He said he would expand programs such as Safer from Wildfires, the California Safe Homes grant program and vegetation management programs to help residents lower risk and premiums.

"Hardening one home at a time simply won't solve the problem," Allen said on his campaign website. "We must all work together to safeguard our communities and create resilient neighborhoods."

He said he would work with the Legislature, the governor and local governments to design neighborhood-scale programs that reduce disaster risk and bring down insurance rates.

Climate accountability and insurer transparency

Allen 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. He said he supports efforts to ensure fossil fuel companies bear appropriate financial responsibility for climate damages driving up insurance costs.

Post-disaster consumer protections

Allen said he would require insurers to clearly explain claim denials and maintain real-time reporting of delays and outstanding claims after disasters. He said he supports resilient redevelopment in post-disaster areas like the Palisades and Altadena as models for safer, more fire-resilient, more insurable communities.

Department of Insurance modernization

Allen said he would invest in staffing and digital infrastructure to efficiently handle rate requests, consumer complaints and disaster claims. He said he would simplify insurance materials and require insurers to clearly explain available discounts under Safer from Wildfires and other hardening programs.

Endorsements

Allen has received endorsements from the California Democratic Party, the California Teachers' Association, the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, the Los Angeles County Democrats and the Communication Workers of America, according to BallotReady. He has also been endorsed by eight Democratic clubs, including the Pacific Palisades Democratic Club, the Los Angeles Stonewall Democrats and the East Bay Stonewall Democrats.