Licensing and disclosures
Who we are and how we are regulated.
Business entity
InsuranceMonster is the brand name of Monster Insurance Services, LLC, a California limited liability company licensed by the California Department of Insurance as an insurance broker-agent organization, license number 6020398. Insurance business is transacted by the organization through its licensed brokers, Michael A. Kassing, principal broker, and James Ruiz, each of whom holds an individual license described below.
Licenses
Organization license. Monster Insurance Services, LLC, California Department of Insurance license number 6020398, issued September 2026. This is the license under which the brokerage transacts insurance.
Individual licenses. Michael A. Kassing, principal broker, California Department of Insurance license number 4445775, active (verified against the California Department of Insurance record on July 13, 2026). James Ruiz, founder, California Department of Insurance license number 4567244, active (verified against the California Department of Insurance record on October 27, 2026).
You can confirm the current status of any of these licenses yourself with the state's official Check a License tool - search by license number.
Learn more about the brokers behind InsuranceMonster on the Michael A. Kassing profile, including credentials, specialties, and California communities served, and on the James Ruiz profile.
Broker relationship
As a broker, InsuranceMonster represents you, the client, and shops your risk across multiple insurance carriers. We are compensated through commissions paid by the carriers with whom coverage is placed. There is no fee to request a quote, and doing so places you under no obligation. Your final cost may include the insurance premium, carrier or policy fees, taxes, surplus-lines taxes, stamping fees, inspection charges, installment charges, or other amounts shown in the quote and policy documents.
Surplus lines disclosure
Some coverage - including certain wildfire and hard-to-insure home policies - is placed in the surplus lines market. Surplus lines insurers are not licensed by the State of California and are not subject to its financial solvency regulation and enforcement to the same degree as admitted carriers. Policies placed with a surplus lines insurer are not protected by the California Insurance Guarantee Association. Surplus lines transactions may be subject to state surplus lines taxes and stamping fees.
California FAIR Plan
The California FAIR Plan is a syndicated fire insurance pool that provides basic fire coverage when insurance is not available in the standard market. It is not a state agency and is intended as a temporary safety net. A FAIR Plan policy is typically narrower than a standard homeowners policy; we can help you evaluate difference-in-conditions coverage to fill common gaps.
No guarantee of coverage
All coverage is subject to carrier underwriting, approval, and the terms, conditions, limits, and exclusions of the issued policy. Information on this website is general in nature and does not constitute a quote, binder, or contract of insurance.