(Inside California Politics) \u2014 The race for insurance commissioner doesn\u2019t often get a lot of attention. But this year, amid an insurance crisis, the November general election will pit two Democrats against each other for a position that\u2019s rising in prominence.<\/p>\n
Inside California Politics host Nikki Laurenzo sat down with one of those two Democrats this week: state Sen. Ben Allen, who will face San Francisco Board of Supervisors member Jane Kim in the general election.<\/p>\n
Allen touted his work on consumer protection legislation in the Legislature and noted that he represents communities that were devastated by last year\u2019s fires in southern California.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just think that we need somebody in this position who\u2019s going to work really hard to improve the customer service operations of the department, to get people off of the FAIR plan, to make sure the market\u2019s more healthy, to drive down rates \u2014 and, in the long term, to really, really work intensely on risk reduction,\u201d Allen said.<\/p>\n
As commissioner, Allen said he would focus on expanding the department\u2019s customer service capabilities, noting that there are only 34 people currently answering calls in the agency.<\/p>\n
Allen also criticized Kim, saying he sometimes worries that his opponent is making campaign promises she can\u2019t keep.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think anybody who tells you that they\u2019ve got a magic wand that can just fix everything tomorrow is lying to you,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd one of my challenges in this race, quite frankly, is that I\u2019m not willing to make a bunch of commitments and promises that I don\u2019t think that I have a real chance of completing and complying with.\u201d<\/p>\n
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