California's top insurance regulator says he will approve an emergency request from State Farm to raise home insurance rates for roughly a million customers if the company can justify the hike at a public hearing.

On Friday, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara signaled his willingness to allow State Farm to raise homeowner rates by an average of 22%. He also granted the state’s largest insurer initial approval to increase premiums by 15% for renters and condo owners and 33% for rental owners.