CARe Believes Quake Victims Need an Elected Commissioner

Amid the accusations that California Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush mishandled $12.8 million in Northridge earthquake settlements, CARe (Community Assisting Recovery Inc.) feels that victims of natural disasters would be better served by an elected commissioner rather than an appointed one.

The nonprofit organization is opposed to current efforts of Senate bill SCA 19 to change the office of the insurance commissioner from an elected to an appointed office. CARe is against SCA 19 primarily because it would be a “step backward in peoples’ ability to have direct influence over those who govern their lives.”

According to CARe, the earthquake will not be over for the victims of the 1994 quake until the Department of Insurance has fulfilled its regulatory functions and the state legislature has ensured that those victims will receive fair recovery for their insured losses.