Elections Brings Some Insurance Industry Upsets in Western States

Tuesday’s elections are likely to change some insurance commissioner spots in the western states, as well as bring some disappointments to those in the insurance industry. In California, the insurance industry backed Republican Mike Villines trailed Democrat Dave Jones by 8 percent in the race for insurance commissioner, with 43 percent of precincts having reported their results as of press time. In Washington, the insurance industry hoped to open up the state’s workers’ compensation insurance system to the private market and eliminate the Department of Labor and Industries’ monopoly on the system by passing Initiative I-1082.