California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara decided Friday to provisionally grant State Farm General's request for a 22% hike in its homeowner insurance rates pending a formal rate hearing next month.

State Farm says the steep hike on homeowners is necessary to shore up its cash reserves in the event of another catastrophe. The insurer has said it expects to pay out about $7.6 billion in claims related to the Los Angeles wildfires, although reinsurance will lower its losses to about $612 million.

The California Department of Insurance has been under pressure to stabilize the market, introducing new rules that allow insurers to factor in future climate risks when setting ra