California’s insurance czar Ricardo Lara took luxe trips as wildfires tore through state

California insurance commissioner Ricardo Lara has been living it up courtesy of donors and industry players as recurring wildfires threatened homes and the insurance market teetered on collapse, a new investigation shows.

The globetrotting insurance czar logged at least 32 luxury trips spanning more than 163 days to exotic destinations like Tokyo, Cape Town and Dubai — much of it funded by the National Assn. of Insurance Commissioners, an industry-funded trade group, according to the Los Angeles Times. 

The trips included a $11,626 premium ticket to Singapore for a 2024 conference and a $9,517 ticket to Tokyo in 2023, the paper reported. A planned $11,730 jaunt to Nepal was canceled after the Los Angeles fires in January. While state employees joining him flew cattle class, the trade group reportedly picked up the tab for first- and business-class seats for Lara.

Lara — a longtime Democratic star who previously served in the state Senate — also reportedly sought donations for pet projects from firms with business before the agency. And his office consistently resisted giving details about his travel, neglecting to say who picked up the tab for some trips until November, according to the LA Times. 

Lara’s office has been contacted for comment.  

It’s not the first time Lara has been dinged for questionable ethics. Not long after taking office in 2019, he was found to be soliciting money from firms he was in charge of regulating. (He vowed to hold himself “to a higher standard” in the aftermath, according to the LA Times.) 

Consumer advocates have blasted the commissioner for cozying up with insurance interests as firms jacked up rates across the state. Premiums have skyrocketed during Lara’s tenure and several major firms dropped policies in California throughout last year, though some have recommitted to the state since that time. 

Earlier investigations by ABC7 and the San Francisco Standard showed Lara jetsetting around the globe and indulging in five-star meals as the state’s insurance market wobbled.

His luxury trips included limos, an African safari, and an extended stay at a five-star resort in Dubai, and huge security bills, ABC7 reported — and he even skipped key state meetings during the travel spree.

Lara also had a habit of living large courtesy of donors, The Standard reported. The commissioner dined out at exclusive restaurants with unidentified fellow gourmands, racking up hefty bills for delicacies and wine courtesy of campaign supporters. 

Lara spent $107,000 on campaign credit cards on travel and meals in destinations like Dublin, Costa Rica, Switzerland, New Zealand and Bermuda, according to the LA Times.

A group of Los Angeles-area fire victims has called on the embattled commissioner to resign.