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This is a great article from Politico. If you are a California producer, get a cup of coffee and sit down and read.
It’s no fun being California insurance commissioner
By CAMILLE VON KAENEL
09/28/2023 06:02 PM EDT
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California insurance commissioner used to be a stable bolthole for ambitious politicians waiting for a plum statewide position to open up.
But catastrophic wildfires fueled in part by drought and rising temperatures have thrust the insurance department to the front line of climate politics.
Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, who was elected to the position in 2019 as a former state lawmaker with national ambitions, is finding himself in a no-win situation as he tries to prevent insurance companies from fleeing the state.
“I think when Commissioner Lara ran he was sort of like, ‘This is like lieutenant governor, but with more stuff to do,’” said Michael Wara, who’s consulted with the state Senate and state energy regulators on wildfire and utility policy and directs Stanford University’s climate program. “I don’t think anybody thinks about it that way anymore.”
Read the rest here: [EXTERNAL LINK] - It’s no fun being California insurance commissioner
It’s no fun being California insurance commissioner
By CAMILLE VON KAENEL
09/28/2023 06:02 PM EDT
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California insurance commissioner used to be a stable bolthole for ambitious politicians waiting for a plum statewide position to open up.
But catastrophic wildfires fueled in part by drought and rising temperatures have thrust the insurance department to the front line of climate politics.
Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, who was elected to the position in 2019 as a former state lawmaker with national ambitions, is finding himself in a no-win situation as he tries to prevent insurance companies from fleeing the state.
“I think when Commissioner Lara ran he was sort of like, ‘This is like lieutenant governor, but with more stuff to do,’” said Michael Wara, who’s consulted with the state Senate and state energy regulators on wildfire and utility policy and directs Stanford University’s climate program. “I don’t think anybody thinks about it that way anymore.”
Read the rest here: [EXTERNAL LINK] - It’s no fun being California insurance commissioner