In this episode, we sit down with Stacy Korsgaden, a longtime insurance professional and candidate for California Insurance Commissioner. Jamie Reid and Gabe Erle have a conversation about one of the biggest issues impacting Californians today: the insurance crisis.
Stacy Korsgaden discusses the challenges facing California’s insurance market, from rising costs and reduced carrier availability to wildfire risk, regulation, and what it will take to create a healthier future for consumers and businesses.
Whether you work in insurance or simply live in California, this episode offers an inside look at an industry that affects all of us more than we realize.
Show Highlights:
[00:00] – Opening the conversation: Why Discover the Difference is covering insurance for the first time and why California’s insurance crisis affects everyone
[02:10] – Introducing Prop 103 and discussing whether California should continue electing its Insurance Commissioner
[04:45] – Stacy’s perspective on leadership, accountability, and why she believes insurance expertise matters in the role
[07:05] – Stacy’s personal connection to insurance: losing her father at a young age and how life insurance changed her family’s future
[10:30] – How that experience led her into a nearly 40-year career in insurance and agency ownership
[13:20] – Building an insurance business around service, reputation, and protecting generations of families
[15:40] – Running for Insurance Commissioner as a Republican in California and why she sees insurance as a nonpartisan issue
[18:30] – Why experience matters and the case for industry expertise in highly technical leadership roles
[21:00] – California’s insurance market today: limited availability, affordability challenges, and the impact on consumers
[24:15] – Breaking down Prop 103, rate approvals, and why insurance companies have been leaving the state
[28:00] – The interaction between inflation, regulation, and delayed rate approvals during and after COVID
[31:40] – Stacy’s proposed solutions: faster rate processing and creating a business development division to attract carriers
[34:55] – The connection between wildfire risk, environmental management, and insurance pricing
[38:20] – Fire prevention strategies, local control, Fire Safe Councils, and reducing community risk
[41:10] – State Farm, catastrophe response, and balancing consumer protection with maintaining carrier participation
[45:30] – The growing role of the Fair Plan and why Stacy believes it should remain a safety net — not the primary solution
[49:00] – Explaining insurance capacity, market competition, and why carrier participation matters for pricing
[52:20] – The importance of creating a more business-friendly environment to encourage insurers to return to California
[55:15] – Audience Q&A: How to win statewide office as a Republican and why Stacy believes insurance shouldn’t be political
[58:30] – Tort reform, litigation trends, and how legal environments impact insurance costs
[1:02:40] – Workers’ compensation reform, fraud prevention, and controlling long-term insurance costs
[1:07:05] – Breaking down insurance fraud, claims inflation, and concerns around California’s current system
[1:11:45] – Discussion around cumulative trauma claims, litigation expansion, and opportunities for reform
[1:16:30] – Building expert working groups and collaborative solutions to improve California’s insurance landscape
[1:19:10] – Long-term vision for California insurance: more competition, more availability, and better outcomes for consumers
[1:22:30] – Closing reflections, leadership philosophy, and Stacy’s message to California voters ahead of the election
