Who regulates your policy in California
Insurance is regulated state by state, so your policy is governed by California law and overseen by the California Department of Insurance — not by a federal agency. It licenses the agent who sells to you and handles complaints if something goes wrong.
Two things worth doing before you sign: verify your agent's license is active in California, and keep the consumer line (800-927-4357) on hand. Both are free, and an agent not licensed in your state is a hard stop.
Your window to cancel in California
California does not set one fixed free-look period for life insurance: the insurer must offer at least 10 days and at most 30 days (Cal. Ins. Code § 10127.9). Senior citizens and replacement-policy buyers are guaranteed a flat 30-day free look (Cal. Ins. Code § 10127.10).
Because the rule is not a single fixed number here, the period that applies to you is whatever your specific policy states. Find that clause in the contract before you sign, rather than assuming a standard period exists.
If a carrier fails in California
If your carrier became insolvent, the California Life & Health Insurance Guarantee Association is the backstop. In California it covers a death benefit up to $300,000 and cash surrender value up to $100,000. Those are separate ceilings, so an IUL's accumulated cash value is protected independently of the death benefit.
This protection is not a reason to skip carrier due diligence. It caps what you would recover, and a policy designed above that cap leaves the excess exposed.
What California adds to the cost
California levies a state premium tax of 2.35% on life insurance premiums. That sits above the 2% median of the 50 states covered here. You do not pay it as a separate line item — carriers price it into the premium, which is part of why the same policy design can cost differently across state lines.