California Commissioner of Insurance

	California Commissioner of Insurance
	; ;
	General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
2012-2013 FY Budget:	$225,276,000
Term limits:	2 terms
	Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	California Insurance Code, Division 3, Chapter 1, Section 12906
Selection Method:	Elected
	Current Officeholder
	; ;
Name:	Dave Jones
Officeholder Party:	Democratic
Assumed office:	January 3, 2011
Compensation:	$139,189
	Elections
Next election:	November 4, 2014
Last election:	November 2, 2010
	Other California Executive Offices
	Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Controller • Superintendent of Public Instruction • Agriculture Secretary • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Secretary • Industrial Relations Director • Public Utilities Commission

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The California Commissioner of Insurance is an elected state executive position in the California state government. The commissioner oversees the California Department of Insurance, which regulates the state's insurance industry. The Department of Insurance is charged with licensing insurance companies and reviewing their financial statements, establishing rate regulations, investigating consumer complaints and punishing insurers with fines or penalties for regulatory noncompliance.

Current officeholder

The current commissioner is Dave Jones, a Democrat. He was first elected in November 2010 and took office on January 3, 2011. He will come up for re-election, if he chooses to run, in November 2014, and his term will end on January 5, 2015.

Jones previously served in the California State Assembly from 2004 to 2010. Previously, he worked as a legal aid attorney with Legal Services of Northern California, a non-profit, public interest law firm serving low-income residents in 22 California counties. He was also a special assistant and counsel to U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno during President Bill Clinton's administration. Jones also sat on the Sacramento City Council from 1999 to 2004. He holds degrees from DePauw University, Harvard Law School and the Kennedy School of Government. He and his wife, Kim, have two children.^[1]

Authority

The office of commissioner of insurance is established by California statute.^[2]

California Insurance Code, Section 12906

12906. The governmental agency unit heretofore known as the Department of Insurance in the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency is hereby made an independent department. The Department of Insurance is under the control of the Insurance Commissioner.

Qualifications

State law requires the commissioner to be "a person competent and fully qualified to perform the duties of the office" without specifically addressing what that means. Additionally, the commissioner may not have any personal financial interest in the California insurance industry.^[3] The commissioner must also fulfill the usual requirements for officers in California's civil service; he or she must be a resident of the state, at least 18 years of age, not a convicted felon, and not a member of the Communist Party or any other organization that advocates the overthrow of the U.S. government.^[4]

California Insurance Code, Section 12901

The commissioner shall be a person competent and fully qualified to perform the duties of the office. Neither the commissioner nor any deputy or employee shall during his or their tenure of office be an officer, agent or employee of an insurer or directly or indirectly interested in any insurer or licensee under this code, except (a) as a policyholder, or, (b) by virtue of relationship by blood or marriage to any person interested in any insurer or licensee.

If the commissioner or any deputy or employee holds any license or permit issued under this code, he shall surrender it for cancellation within 10 days after appointment and qualification. Upon termination of his office or employment such license or permit shall be reissued for the balance of the then current license or permit year without fee or penalty.

Elections

Insurance commissioners are elected for four year terms at the same time as the governor, i.e. during federal midterm election years (2006, 2010, 2014, etc.).^[5]

Term limits

Like all elected California executive officials, the insurance commissioner may not serve more than two terms.^[5]

Vacancies

When a vacancy occurs, the governor appoints a replacement to serve out the remainder of the term with the approval of both houses of the state legislature.^[6]

Duties

The commissioner, as head of the California Department of Insurance, is responsible for regulating the state's insurance industry. The department licenses insurance providers, approves all rate or premium increases, investigates consumer complaints and allegations of fraud, analyzes insurance policy issues, and supervises the financial well-being of insurance companies. The department is also responsible for winding down the operations of bankrupt insurance companies and liquidating their assets. It also publishes a variety of information for consumers, including insurance news, guides and legal info.

Divisions

Consumer Services & Market Conduct
Community Relations Branch
Fraud
Rate Regulation
Legal
Office of the Ombudsman
Policy and Regulations
Legislative
Conservation and Liquidation^[7]

State budget

The budget for the California Department of Insurance in the 2012-2013 Fiscal Year was $225,276,000.^[8]

Compensation

In 2010, the commissioner received compensation in the amount of $139,189.^[9] The commissioner's salary, like that of all other state elected officials, is determined by the California Citizens Compensation Commission on an annual basis. The last time the commissioner's compensation was changed was 2009, when the office's salary and benefits were cut by 18 percent.

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