Steven Bradford, California insurance commissioner candidate, 2026 primary election questionnaire

Ahead of the June primary election, the Southern California News Group compiled a list of questions to pose to the candidates who wish to represent you. You can find the full questionnaire below. Questionnaires may have been edited for spelling, grammar, length and, in some instances, to remove hate speech and offensive language.

Name: Steven Bradford

Current job title: Retired State Senator

Age: 67

Political party affiliation: Democratic

Incumbent: No

Other political positions held: State Senate, State Assembly, Gardena City Council

City where you reside: Gardena

Campaign website or social media: bradfordforcalifornia.com

Why do you want to become the insurance commissioner? What does a commissioner do? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

I am running for Insurance Commissioner because California’s insurance system is not working for working families, homeowners, small businesses, or first responders. Too many Californians are being priced out of coverage or losing access altogether, especially in communities impacted by wildfires and natural disasters. For many families, their home represents their entire life savings, and when insurance becomes unavailable or unaffordable, they are left one crisis away from financial ruin.

After nearly three decades of public service on the Gardena City Council, in the State Assembly, and in the State Senate, including service on the Insurance Committee, I have the experience needed to fix what is broken. In the legislature, serving on the Insurance Committee, I built up a record of doing the homework, meeting with people and organizations with differing viewpoints, engaging in thoughtful and substantive debate between competing interests, finding common ground to generate consensus, and getting things done for the people of our state. As Insurance Commissioner, my focus will be on creating a stable and fair insurance marketplace that holds insurers accountable, protects consumers, and ensures coverage is affordable, equitable, and reliable for all Californians.

The challenges California’s insurance industry faces are many — but I am confident that the opportunities to rebuild, restructure and refortify are achievable. No Californian should hear news of a natural disaster beyond their control and wonder whether they will be pushed into poverty. As Insurance Commissioner, I’ll work to ensure that nobody does.

When it comes to wildfire risks, how would you balance consumer protection with a functioning, competitive market? What would you have done differently to reform homeowners’ insurance following efforts to help L.A. rebuild from the wildfires? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

While too many Californians are struggling to even get insurance, insurance companies are leaving our state at a rapid and unsustainable pace. The status quo isn’t working for consumers and businesses alike, and profound change is desperately needed to right the ship. For a large percentage of Californians, their entire savings are in their home — if Californians can’t insure their homes, they will live one crisis away from financial ruin. It’s critical that California establishes a stable marketplace that can attract and maintain a business environment so that insurance companies can compete here. At the same time, we need to ensure that consumers are not priced out, that they get the coverage they need, that it’s fair, equitable and adequately covers their needs.

As Insurance Commissioner, I would work to stabilize insurance markets while protecting consumers by closely reviewing and, when necessary, rejecting unjustified rate increases, making sure insurers clearly justify how proposed rates reflect actual risk and loss experience rather than excessive profits. We can be faster and more efficient when reviewing rate filings by increasing the rate review team, eliminating non-productive administrative hurdles not mandated by Proposition 103 and concentrating on eliminating the uncertainty and friction inherent in the current regulation-based rate and form application process. Lastly, I would shore up the FAIR Plan as a backstop, and work with the Legislature to modernize regulations so insurers remain solvent and competitive without shifting unreasonable costs or risks onto consumers.

The state’s Department of Insurance says it is holding insurers accountable with its new “sustainable insurance strategy.” SIS allows insurance companies to increase rates based on the growing threat of climate change, passing on to their customers costs for insuring high-risk homes. In exchange, insurance companies are expected to write more polices in fire-prone parts of the state, where they’ve ended coverage for hundreds of thousands of homeowners over the past decade. The goal of SIS is to help transition property owners off the FAIR Plan. Tell us why you do — or don’t — support this strategy. (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

I absolutely support Commissioner Lara’s decision to implement the sustainable insurance strategy. I am not going to sugarcoat this — insurance rates are an issue in play because reality is in play. I promise that any rate impact will be based on science, reality and the long-term best interests of Californians, but California can incentivize home insurers to increase market capacity by continuing to implement a sustainable insurance strategy.

State Farm teetered on insolvency in the state after the L.A. wildfires. Everyone’s homeowners’ insurance policies rose this past year due to the consumer bailout of State Farm and the FAIR Plan, both of which sought huge rate increases. Is this fair to consumers who don’t live in fire-prone areas? Tell us why or why not. (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

No, the consumer bailout of State Farm and the FAIR Plan is clearly unfair to Californians who don’t live in fire-prone areas. The California insurance industry is clearly in a state of crisis — something that was intensified in the aftermath of the devastating January 2025 fires in L.A. County.

California must establish a stable marketplace that can attract and maintain a business environment so that insurance companies can compete here.

At the same time, we need to ensure that consumers are not priced out, that they get the coverage they need, that it’s fair, equitable and adequately covers their needs. As Insurance Commissioner, I’ll fight to keep insurers in our state while ensuring stronger consumer protections related to non-renewals, cancellations, and claims handling following disasters.

Catastrophe modeling is a computer-based process that simulates thousands of potential natural or man-made disasters to estimate potential financial losses. Do you believe California could utilize catastrophe modeling that could lead to rate increases for homeowners? Why or why not? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

As California’s Insurance Commissioner, I’ll fight for insurers in this state to be required to transparently assess and disclose climate-related risks in their underwriting and pricing, while regulators enforce limits on premium increases tied directly to these risks. Utilizing catastrophe modeling might lead to rate increases for some homeowners, but it will help stabilize the market statewide by allowing insurers to properly calibrate risk. But the insurers should also diversify risk through reinsurance, risk pooling, and investment in mitigation strategies, rather than passing the full cost onto workers or policyholders. This helps mitigate wildfire and natural disaster risk and ensures the market remains financially resilient without unfairly burdening those least able to absorb higher costs.

The California FAIR Plan is the state’s insurer of last resort. Is it fair for the plan to charge people to recover losses on a $1 billion assessment to pay for L.A. fire claims, even when these same people weren’t living in the wildfire areas? Please explain why or why not. (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

The current over-reliance on the FAIR Plan is not sustainable. We must begin a process to depopulate the number of policies in the FAIR Plan. I believe this will best be done by a fully functional, competitive insurance market. I support the implementation of Assembly Bill 226, which will enable the issuance of bonds to finance the costs of claims, thereby increasing the liquidity and claims-paying capacity of the FAIR Plan, refunding bonds previously issued for that purpose, and reducing reliance on expensive reinsurance. I want to evaluate including the FAIR Plan in the California Insurance Guarantee Association, as a means to more efficiently spread risk among all of the parties that are benefitted by — and burdened by — the realities of the California market.

Ultimately, reinvigorating our insurance market will not occur overnight because the problems and issues did not materialize overnight. It will take time and the willpower to make difficult decisions. I have that ability and am willing to make those difficult choices. But let’s keep in mind, California insurance consumers still pay less than East Coast hurricane-zone rate payers. The California insurance market has not collapsed the way it has in Florida, where major insurers — not just the low-market-share companies — have abandoned the state. All we have to do is look at the Florida insurance market to learn what not to do. We have an opportunity to fix our market here–we just must be honest, smart and reasonable.

Shouldn’t major insurers like State Farm and Allstate be permitted to cancel policies and leave the marketplace? Why not just let them leave? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

California is a free market economy; neither the government nor the Commissioner has any say in where and when a business can or should do business. But as to just letting them leave, I would do everything in my power to convince them to stay as Commissioner. More providers lead to more competition, smarter innovation, greater consumer choice and lower rates for all Californians.

As of March, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is moving forward with finalizing new regulations to limit public oversight and transparency in insurance rate increases under 7%. A finalized rule effectively curtails public challenges to insurance rate increases by denying compensation to groups like Consumer Watchdog and other advocacy organizations. What do you think of this plan? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

I strongly support this decision because consumer advocacy should be based on consumer need and protection, not profit. The intervener compensation fees that these advocates are charging are, at the end of the day, being paid by California consumers, which only drives up the cost of insurance. I support the work of non-profit consumer advocacy groups like Policyholders United and would welcome a collaborative working relationship with such an organization.

We must ultimately be faster and more efficient when reviewing rate filings by increasing the rate review team, eliminating non-productive administrative hurdles not mandated by Proposition 103, and concentrating on eliminating the uncertainty and friction inherent in the current regulation-based rate and form application process. This includes creating a fast path for rate increases or decreases below a certain threshold, as well as deregulating commercial rates because commercial policyholders are sophisticated purchasers with sophisticated brokers and risk managers and other tools at their disposal.

Car insurance rates are skyrocketing in California, with rates jumping over 30% since 2022, driven by expensive vehicles, complex repairs and new safety requirements. What could you do to contain auto insurance costs when a driver has no accidents? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

As Insurance Commissioner, I would start to lower rates for drivers with no accidents by strictly enforcing Proposition 103, which mandates that insurers provide at least a 20% Good Driver Discount to eligible drivers with no accidents or violations. I would make sure insurers do not weaken eligibility standards or offset these savings through hidden pricing changes.

Second, I would hold insurers accountable to using fair and legally approved rating factors like driving record and years of experience, and I would ensure that safe drivers are not penalized based on ZIP code or other indirect factors that do not reflect actual driving risk.

Third, I would rigorously scrutinize any proposed rate increases. Insurers must provide strong actuarial justification, and I would reject or modify any proposals that unfairly shift costs onto low-risk drivers, protecting those who have demonstrated responsible behavior behind the wheel.

Lastly, I would promote the expansion of usage-based insurance programs that rely on real-time driving data. These programs can more accurately reward safe driving habits, giving careful drivers additional opportunities to lower their premiums.

How do you think taxpayers could better understand the work of this office? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

In this precarious time for California’s insurance marketplace, it’s going to be essential for the next Insurance Commissioner to prioritize a robust consumer education program, which I will implement in my first 100 days in office. I think taxpayers can measure whether the Insurance Commissioner is succeeding if they have delivered on market stabilization, reduced and stable rates, modernized the Department of Insurance to provide quicker investigations and reviews, and better communication, cooperation, and collaboration with all entities involved with insurance.

What’s a hidden talent you have? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

Music is my first passion — my father owned two record shops growing up, and I played clarinet and saxophone throughout my childhood. In my early career, I almost took a job at Death Row Records but backed out after meeting Suge Knight. As the founder and chair of the Gardena Jazz Festival, now in its 23rd year, music remains a tremendously important part of my life.

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