Experimenting with group homeowners' insurance policies. Clear contracts. Upfront agreements between policyholders and insurers.

Several candidates for the California Insurance Commissioner addressed the state's challenged insurance market, marred by insurers pulling back in recent years and by a stressed California FAIR Plan, the state’s insurer of last resort.

In an over two-hour-long forum held in the Pacific Palisades — the Los Angeles community devastated by the over 23,000-acre fire last January — four of the 11 candidates running for the position talked about wanting to move people off the California FAIR plan and modernize the California Department of Insurance on March 27. Californians will determine their next insurance commissioner in the general election in November.

The candidates at the forum were

• Patrick Wolff, a financial analyst

• Merritt Farren, an attorney who said he lost his home in the Palisades Fire

• Steven Bradford, a former California state senator

• California State Sen. Ben Allen, whose district includes the Pacific Palisades

Here are a few takeaways of how insurance could look different in California, according to the candidates.

Risk mitigation is key. But homeowners need to know they’ll benefit

Allen said that among the factors that have “spooked” the reinsurance market in the state is, in recent years, the “massive perception of risk increase in the state.” He pointed to climate change and said that California fires have grown “more ferocious.” However, Allen said that risk reduction “is essential to the long-term stability and solvency of this market.”Allen said that among the factors that have “spooked” the reinsurance market in the state is, in recent years, the “massive perception of risk increase in the state.” He pointed to climate change and said that California fires have grown “more ferocious.” However, Allen said that risk reduction “is essential to the long-term stability and solvency of this market.”

He said he’s passionate about ensuring resources are allocated to firefighting, vegetation management, wildlands management, and healthy forests.

“When it comes to what is really working in terms of getting insurers to step up and insure people in high-risk areas, it’s the risk mitigation work,” he said.

“This is an opportunity for us as a state to start to shift policies and practices toward greater risk reduction and greater fire wisdom and fire resilience,” Allen said. “It's going to take a culture shift, just like they have in Florida with regards to hurricanes, what we've had to do with regards to water conservation and drought. And that's ultimately the longer-term solution.”

However, Allen said that communities and homeowners can’t be asked to do all the hard work of risk reduction if there isn’t going to be any benefit from insurers.