September 20, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ASSEMBLYMEMBER MARC LEVINE ANNOUNCES CAMPAIGN FOR STATE INSURANCE COMMISSIONER IN 2022

Democrat Running to Hold Insurance Companies Accountable, End Current Era of Scandals 

(Marin County, CA)--Today, State Assemblymember Marc Levine (D-Marin and Sonoma Counties) announced that he is running for California State Insurance Commissioner in the 2022 election. 

“Our state deserves an Insurance Commissioner who will stand up to corporate special interests on behalf of everyday Californians and consumers,” said Levine. “The issues facing the next Commissioner have never been more critical: protecting California during a time of worsening climate change and increasingly frequent wildfires and floods, ensuring access to high quality, affordable healthcare for all, and defending consumers from corporate fraud and abuse.”

Levine has represented the 10th State Assembly District--which includes Marin County and southern Sonoma County--in the legislature since 2012. 

“At this moment of great challenge in California, we need real, engaged leadership and problem solving,” said Marc Levine. “Currently there are too many distractions, too many conflicts, too many opportunities missed. I think new leadership is essential.”

Throughout his five terms in the Assembly, Levine has developed a reputation as one of California’s most thoughtful and innovative leaders, earning extensive praise for his independence and problem-solving approach. Levine has never shied away from taking on special interests and corporate power. He has become known for his stands against corruption and dark money in politics, his push to tax healthcare companies to expand coverage, his battles against Big Oil and fracking, his victory against the NRA which resulted in the closing of the “bullet button” loophole, his stand against Big Tech for greater data privacy, and his work to hold big utilities like PG&E accountable for their dangerous behavior. 

Over the past several years, in the face of devastating wildfires, Levine has taken on the insurance industry on behalf of wildfire survivors and communities in high-risk areas. He recently introduced the California Catastrophic Wildfire Insurance Act, groundbreaking legislation which will make homeowners’, commercial, and property insurance available in California more accessible and affordable. The legislation increases investment in ongoing wildfire management and mitigation measures and creates a new wildfire insurance market, safety net, and regulatory structure, to bring stability and predictability to the California property insurance market and protect those most vulnerable to wildfires.

With his campaign launch, Levine also rolled out his vision for the office, which includes:

• Holding insurance companies accountable for a change, strengthening oversight of the industry and consumer protections. 
• Standing up for wildfire victims, survivors, and at-risk communities so insurance companies can no longer deny coverage or raise rates to unaffordable levels. 
• Creating a new health insurance consumer’s bill of rights to protect the right to quality, affordable care for all, and enshrining a patient’s right to sue their insurance company. 
• Protecting Californians from insurance discrimination based on education, economic status, or race, which is still happening in California. 
• Making sure private consumer data is kept private, and preventing insurance companies from selling our data to other industries, from car companies to Big Tech. 
• Fighting insurance fraud, price gouging, and other predatory practices. 
• Protecting our climate and reducing the insurance industry’s contribution to climate change. 

The primary election for Insurance Commissioner falls on Tuesday June 7, 2022. The top two vote getters in that primary, regardless of party, will face off in the November 8, 2022 general election. 

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