California's first elected insurance commissioner says Ricardo Lara has 'failed'

Nicole Nixon, The Sacramento Bee on Dec 17, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Democratic congressman and twice-elected state insurance commissioner on Wednesday slammed the current officeholder, Ricardo Lara, who he accused of failing in his duty to California consumers.

Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., became the first person elected to the office in 1990 after voters turned it into an elected position instead of one appointed by the governor. He served until 1995 and held a second term as the state’s insurance watchdog from 2003-2007.

Garamendi said Lara, a fellow Democrat who has served two terms as insurance commissioner, has not done enough to protect California policyholders from a range of issues, including skyrocketing premiums and being dropped by their insurers.

“This is a national issue, and California is the worst of all,” Garamendi said. “The current commissioner has failed his obligations to the consumers and similarly failed his obligations to the insurance companies — holding them financially accountable.”

His comments came the same day as a new report from an environmental-focused nonprofit accused the insurance industry of claiming “financial distress while reporting billions in profits.”

According to the report from Unlocking America’s Future, home insurance premiums in California rose 55% between 2019 and 2024. At the same time, insurance companies declined to renew more than 250,000 home insurance policies and offered the lowest number of new policies since 2015.

After four years of losses, property and casualty insurers turned a profit in 2024, due primarily to higher premiums, according to another report from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. The gains came despite higher losses from natural disasters, which totaled $110 billion nationwide last year.

Reducing claim damages and delays in paying

Dr. Martin Weiss, a Florida-based financial analyst, said a number of other worrying trends have taken hold in the insurance industry in recent years, including delayed payments and “cutting claims to the bone.”

“The law says insurers must cover all smoke damage, but the California FAIR Plan covered only smoke damage that could be seen or smelled, ignoring nearly all other damages. That is illegal,” he said, adding that State Farm was “slapped for doing the same thing.”

According to data provided by Weiss, one-third of claims in California took at least 60 days to be paid. Garamendi said the tools exist for Lara, who terms out of office next year, to ensure policyholders are paid in a timely manner.

“Unfortunately it is of no use whatsoever,” he said, unless the insurance commissioner is willing to “hold companies to the law.”

In a statement, Lara dismissed recent critiques as “misleading political attacks” and said California’s insurance industry is at “a major turning point.” “We will be getting people off the FAIR Plan. Consumers, homeowners, nonprofits and small business are going to be able to get coverage on their own terms,” Lara said, adding that his office’s priority is to “safeguard wildfire survivors from unfair and illegal insurer practices by ensuring a thorough review of complaints and facts related to potential violations, while facilitating the prompt payment of claims. We continue to receive and mediate complaints filed with the Department against State Farm and all other insurers in order to seek resolution where possible.”

The insurance commissioner, a Democrat, has also come under scrutiny during his second term for first-class travel to a number of global destinations. Lara’s office has not disclosed who paid for most of the trips, according to a Los Angeles Times investigation.

A harder job than being governor?

The congressman, also a Democrat, described the insurance commissioner job as “maybe even more difficult than the governor” because of the responsibility to keep in check one of the largest and most powerful industries in the nation.

Garamendi said he has heard from several candidates running to replace Lara in next year’s statewide elections. He has so far declined to issue an endorsement but had advice for those seeking it: “Prove to me you’ve got the guts, the courage to take on this industry, the biggest financial industry in America.”

“If you’re not a bulldog, if you’re not willing to fight the fight for the consumers, then don’t bother asking me for any endorsement or any help in your campaign,” he said.

____