A former three-term Democratic member of the California Assembly, Dave Jones was elected Insurance Commissioner in 2010. He is generally considered a consumer advocate and was a foe in 2010 of Proposition 17, an initiative that would have let insurance companies give discounts to customers who maintained nearly continuous coverage. Mercury Insurance was the proposition’s primary sponsor.

Jones graduated from DePauw University in 1984, Harvard Law School and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. The Sacramento native began his career as a legal aid attorney, providing free legal assistance to the poor with Legal Services of Northern California from 1988 to 1995. He served in the Clinton Administration for three years as special assistant and counsel to U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno. Jones held a seat on the Sacramento City Council from 1999 to 2004.

He was elected to the California State Assembly in 2004 and during his six-year tenure chaired the Assembly Health Committee, the Assembly Judiciary Committee and the Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services.

Jones was sworn in as insurance commissioner on January 3, 2011, and there has been no shortage of clashes with auto and health insurers. In April 2012 he called an 8% Aetna health insurance rate increase for small-businesses “excessive.” After a year an office, an informal insurance industry survey by Insurance Journal gave the commissioner a “D” overall for his performace. He was deemed an OK communicator with a legislative agenda that wasn’t friendly to business. One commenter said, “He believes he is KING and he will protect the consumer to the ultimate detriment of the industry.”  

He was an early and prominent supporter of a November 2012 ballot initiative that would compel health insurers, HMOs and preferred provider networks to get the insurance commissioner’s approval before changing rates.

Jones is a strong supporter of President Obama’s healthcare reform and will be a key player in its implementation in California.  

He is married to Kim Flores and they have two children, Isabelle and William.

Biography (Dave Jones 2010 for Commissioner)

Aetna Rate Hike Is Deemed “excessive’ by California Regulator (by Marc Lifsher, Los Angeles Times)

California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones: Year One Report Card (by Don Jergler, Insurance Journal)

Calif. Commissioner Jones Gets ‘D’ From Insurance Industry (by Don Jergler, Insurance Journal)