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.

A State Farm executive has been fired after he was secretly recorded alleging that the insurance company hiked rates for California homeowners reeling from the devastating Los Angeles wildfires. Haden Kirkpatrick,

Haden Kirkpatrick, a top State Farm executive, said he was fired after being recorded in an undercover video making disparaging remarks about Pacific Palisades homeowners.

A State Farm executive has been fired following the release of a recording where he said the company’s California rate hikes are “kind of” orchestrated, according to a Los Angeles Times story.

Haden Kirkpatrick said State Farm’s decision to pull out of California’s insurance market was a calculated move in response to state regulations and financial concerns.

Kirkpatrick, who joined State Farm in 2021 and had started his insurance career in 2015 with Esurance, told the LA Times that the secret video was filmed during a Tinder date – which he now thinks was a set-up.

State Farm executives said at the meeting that it needs a 22% emergency rate hike in California to cover more than $7.9 billion in losses. Lara initially rejected the request, saying in a Friday, Feb. 14, letter to State Farm executives that he needed more information before he can approve an increase.