Tuolumne, CA — One of the candidates hoping to be the next California Insurance Commissioner spoke at a town hall meeting on Wednesday at the Tuolumne Resilience Center.
Stacy Korsgaden, a Republican, is seeking the position of the soon to be termed out Ricardo Lara. The town hall was hosted by Tuolumne County Supervisor Steve Griefer.
Korsgaden noted that she graduated from CAL Poly San Luis Obispo, later opened an insurance firm there, and sold it in 2023 after it became a nationally recognized agency. She expressed a hope of becoming the first Insurance Commissioner (since the position was established in the 1990s) to have firsthand experience in the field.
She said, “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.”
Korsgaden argued that the current problems started back in 1988 with the narrow passage of Proposition 103 and its regulations and price controls. She said that while the intentions at the time were good, it has led to over-regulation and rising rates. She used the analogy of a gradually boiling pot of water that eventually “boiled over” in 2023 when State Farm decided to no longer write new policies, putting pressure on other providers, and more people on the Fair Plan. She says it had a “cascading effect” and “froze the market.”
Her goal is to both increase insurance carriers (to create more competition, lower rates) and get people off the Fair Plan.
She proposes creating a new business division in the Department of Insurance to welcome new capital and additional insurance companies. She also promised to crack down on insurance fraud and do a complete audit the Department of Insurance to find more efficiencies.
Several other elected officials were in attendance and asked questions, including Tuolumne County Supervisors Anaiah Kirk and Jaron Brandon, and Tuolumne County Superintendent of Schools Zack Abernathy.
Supervisor Anaiah Kirk talked about positive fire prevention work being done in Tuolumne County, referencing the Master Stewardship Agreement and its efforts to build a horseshoe of protection around the county. He said Tuolumne County should be a pilot program and talked about challenging efforts to educate the current Insurance Commissioner Lara about this, and seeking ways to reward communities that are putting in the work.
Korsgaden was complimentary, and promised if elected, “You will be the first county that I come see, and I will bring insurance companies here.”
One of the questions Supervisor Brandon asked was about helping people in the foothills who are “land rich, but cash poor,” who want to do home hardening but don’t have the financial resources.
Korsgaden talked about the idea of wanting to see a state Marshall Plan related to fire and get money down to the counties to do needed work. She also expressed support for a concept of tax rebates on home hardening.
There are 11 candidates running for the Insurance Commissioner position, and the top two in the June Primary election will move on to the November election.
Supervisor Griefer also added several questions throughout the hour. Central Sierra Broadcasting reached out to him afterward for his thoughts on the forum. He relayed thanks to Supervisors Kirk and Brandon for attending, and District Two candidate Mark Brooks, who brought a flat of water for those in attendance.
In addition, Griefer added, “Truthfully, I wish we had more interested people attend the town hall since this topic is not a Democrat or Republican issue. The insurance rates we’re all paying do not care what party we belong to. If we do not address the leadership at the State Capitol now, the decision makers of our insurance issues, then we can’t complain about how badly we’re are being affected by the insurance issues plaguing our county.”
He continued, “The ballots are out. We need the voters to understand that this is one of the most important elections that will have a direct impact on our wallets, and insurance rates. We need to get behind a professional in the insurance industry, who can address and turn the insurance industry around, or I fear that we’re all going to have a much larger problem in the future.”
