by Roger Riffenburgh
Stacy Korsgaden, a longtime insurance professional and business owner from California’s Central Coast, is running for California Insurance Commissioner in 2026. Her campaign comes at a time when the state’s insurance market is facing unprecedented strain, with homeowners struggling to secure coverage and insurers reducing their presence in the state. Korsgaden argues that her decades of industry experience equip her to help stabilize and modernize the system.
For Stacy, “insurance isn’t just a political and economic issue – it’s personal.” Her father was killed in an auto accident when she was a young girl. The life insurance policy he had taken out just weeks earlier meant her family could stay afloat during that difficult time. That loss also informs her belief that the state’s insurance system must be centered on fairness, accessibility, and timely support. She went on to build a full‑service insurance agency that managed thousands of policies, giving her extensive firsthand experience with the challenges faced by California families and small businesses.
Korsgaden’s campaign platform focuses on restoring competition to California’s insurance marketplace. She argues that regulatory delays and outdated processes have contributed to the current crisis, where insurers face long waits for rate approvals and consumers face shrinking coverage options. To address this, she says, “As Insurance Commissioner, I will establish a new business division in the Department of Insurance that welcomes companies back to California to serve policyholders, streamline the rating process so carriers can file and adjust rates faster, and aggressively cracks down on fraud that drives up costs for everyone.”
Another major component of her plan is improving transparency and consumer support. Korsgaden advocates creating a “Consumer Advocacy Hub” within the Department of Insurance to provide real‑time disaster assistance, publish insurer performance scorecards, and make regulatory information more accessible. She also emphasizes the need to ensure accurate replacement‑cost estimates so homeowners are not left underinsured after disasters.
Stacy Korsgaden was born in Bellflower, California and grew up in Visalia in the Central Valley, where she graduated from Mt. Whitney High School. She attended college at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. She also completed a Certificate in professional Financial Planning from UC Santa Barbara.
Stacy lives in Grover Beach (near San Luis Obispo). When she has free time, she likes to hike, play guitar, read, or travel. You can learn more about Stacy’s campaign on her campaign website.
