By ALEX NIEVES, POLITICO
California’s devastating wildfires are inflaming insurance politics — including the longstanding fight between Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, and advocacy group, Consumer Watchdog.
Lara, who is set to leave office when his term ends in January, is trying to revise a pillar of California’s insurance system. He’s proposed changing the system by which insurers are required to pay consumer advocates that intervene in rate cases, where they will oftentimes argue for lower rates or more review, as Saqib Rahim reports for subscribers (opens in new tab).
If he succeeds, it would make it harder for consumer advocates to collect payments for the work — and be a direct hit on Consumer Watchdog, which has collected the most money from the system by far. Of the $1.5 million paid to outside intervenors in 2025, Consumer Watchdog collected $1.47 million.
Insurers laud Lara’s move, saying objections from Consumer Watchdog are sometimes without merit and have deterred them from doing business in California. Lara calls it a “central component” of his campaign to make California insurable for the long run.
Consumer Watchdog has already threatened litigation over the rules. Harvey Rosenfield, founder of the group, said by phone that Lara is dismantling consumer protections that have long shielded Californians from the “rapacious greed and abuses of insurance companies.”
Lara’s proposed regulations are pending final review this month by a California office that checks for compliance with state law. If approved, they would take effect shortly after.
