(The Center Square) – California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara was absent from a hearing from the state’s largest insurer, State Farm, on its petition to raise property insurance rates up to 38% in the wake of the Palisades and Eaton fires that caused hundreds of billions of dollars in damage.
Lara’s absence last month during a key legislative oversight hearing to attend an insurance industry conference in Bermuda sparked outrage, as has his refusal to order his department to comply with the governor’s return-to-work order.
As reported by ABC 7, Lara has enjoyed at least 46 junkets since the start of his tenure in 2019, many of which did not include receipts and 11 of which were fully taxpayer-funded. Among the taxpayer-funded trips for which receipts were available was a one-week jaunt to Colombia for an “LGBTI” conference and a four-day, five-star hotel bill for Pride Fest in New York City, which did not include insurance-related meetings on his schedule.
Lara leads the California Department of Insurance, which since the passage of Proposition 103 in 1988, has had to vote to approve insurance rate hikes. Since Prop. 103 was passed, property insurance rates have not kept up with the cost of insurance claims, leading many insurers to stop offering new policies or exit the state entirely and leaving many Californians without any regular insurance options.
ABC 7 asked Lara’s staff about the purpose of his taxpayer-funded trips, and at first did not receive a response, until staff eventually said, “We have conducted an exhaustive search and found no records of attendance at these events.”
ABC 7 received receipts for and found pictures of Lara at these events, suggesting there’s little question the commissioner was present.
Of the taxpayer-funded trips, many did not present clear benefits to state taxpayers’ insurance programs.
In February 2019, Lara attended Somos Un Pueblo Unidos: Immigrant Justice in a New Era as a speaker in New Mexico, pairing the trip with a panel appearance at New Mexico Superintendent Office of Insurance GoHealth Wildfire Panel. The cost for taxpayers was $1,624.44
In April 2019, Lara attended the Hispanic Federation Gala in New York City, where he reportedly met with regulators and others, costing taxpayers $2,389.98.
In May 2019, Lara attended the Fourth Conference of LGBTI Political Leaders of the Americas in Columbia, costing taxpayers $4,629.53.
In May 2019, Lara also attended the Latino State of Census 2020 meeting,and the International Labor Rights Forum, costing taxpayers $2,717.30.
In June 2019, Lara went to PrideFest NYC, costing taxpayers $2,117.54.
In June 2021, Lara attended Pride Month in Washington, D.C., costing taxpayers $1,224.37.
In June 2023, Lara went to a United Nations sustainable finance regional roundtable, costing taxpayers $1,846.33.
