California Insurers Report $2.5 Billion in Diverse Supplier Spending — What Small Businesses Should Know

LOS ANGELES. California insurers reported more than $2.5 billion in 2025 spending with over 4,300 businesses owned by women, veterans, disabled veterans, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities and members of historically underrepresented communities, according to data released October 7 by the California Department of Insurance.

The figure is not a new grant fund and does not guarantee a contract. It reflects spending reported by 393 insurers in the 2026 California Insurance Diversity Survey. Those companies represented nearly 96% of California’s insurance market by premium volume.

What the data shows

The department reported more than $1.8 billion in spending with businesses owned by people from historically underrepresented communities, over $490 million with women-owned enterprises, more than $33 million with veteran-owned businesses, over $21 million with disabled-veteran-owned businesses and more than $14 million with LGBTQ-owned businesses.

Despite the dollar total, diverse supplier spending accounted for 9% of overall procurement, down from prior years. The agency’s analysis also found that insurers conducting targeted outreach allocated an 11-percentage-point larger share of spending to diverse suppliers. That is an association in the department’s survey analysis, not a promise of business for any individual vendor.

Where small businesses may find opportunities

Insurance companies buy far more than insurance products. Vendor opportunities can include technology, repairs, data services, professional services, translation, marketing, facilities work and event support. Each insurer sets its own procurement rules and qualification requirements.

Businesses interested in the market can:

review the state’s Insurance Diversity Program and events calendar;
check whether they qualify for categories tracked by the program and what documentation buyers may request;
prepare a concise capabilities statement covering services, licenses, insurance, service area and prior experience;
monitor individual insurers’ supplier portals for relevant solicitations;
avoid anyone promising a guaranteed contract based on the state report.

The new findings add a supplier-level view to California’s broader small-business policy changes. Businesses can also explore the site’s Business & Investment guide.