Stacy Korsgaden, Insurance Commissioner candidate for the State of California, said on March 16 that Temecula homeowners are unable to obtain private insurance and are relying on the state’s last-resort FAIR Plan due to wildfire risk and regulatory pressure on carriers.
The issue has gained attention as more Californians find themselves without access to traditional home insurance options. According to Korsgaden, “People here can’t get insurance. They’re stuck on the Fair Plan, and that’s unacceptable. Rising risk from unmanaged forests and mega-fires. And over-regulation pushing providers out of California. Lower the risk. Bring competition back. Give Californians real choices,” according to her remarks shared on X after a visit to Temecula. A licensed insurance professional for nearly 40 years, she pointed to forest management challenges and regulatory pressures as factors influencing insurers’ decisions to scale back in the state. Korsgaden is the only Republican candidate seeking to replace outgoing Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara.
The California FAIR Plan reported 668,609 policies in force at the end of 2025, following a 43% increase between September 2024 and December 2025. The plan added 21,859 residential policies in the final quarter alone. A Bloomberg analysis found that about 14% of policies now cover properties in lower wildfire-risk urban areas, suggesting insurer pullbacks are expanding beyond high-risk zones, according to Insurance Business Magazine.
Kin, a digital home insurer, reported binding nearly 3,000 policies in California and $5.3 million in premium within three months of launching statewide. The company posted $201.6 million in revenue for 2025, up 29% year over year, and operates in 13 states with more than $600 million in direct written premium, according to PR Newswire.
The number of FAIR Plan policies has more than quadrupled since September 2019. The plan has requested an average rate increase of 35.8%, which would be its largest in at least seven years. Some policyholders could see increases exceeding 300%, while others may see decreases. The FAIR Plan currently covers nearly 10% of residential policies in California and provides fire-only coverage, according to ABC10.
Korsgaden has held an active California insurance license since 1988. She sold her Farmers Insurance agency after 35 years in business in 2023 and established Coastal Wealth Financial as a financial advisory firm in San Luis Obispo County. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and a certificate in Professional Financial Planning from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
