State Farm customers will see their insurance premiums rise in June after the company became the first to win approval for emergency interim rate hikes in California.

The state's largest insurer made the unprecedented request for emergency rate hikes earlier this year after it said it was in financial distress and expected more than $7 billion in claims because of the Los Angeles County fires in January.

The decision by a judge, which was approved by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, means State Farm can raise its rates an average 17% for homeowners, 15% for renters and condos, and 38% for rental dwellings starting June 1st.

Los Angeles area fire survivors and lawmakers had called on Lara to investigate the company over its handling of claims and to reject the company's request for rate hikes in the meantime, but he said the rate hikes and the claims complaints are separate matters.

State Farm must still go through a full rate hearing, perhaps later this year, for the original rate requests it submitted last year.

The insurer has promised to provide refunds to policyh.. after that hearing, the approved rates are lower than the interim rates.

As a condition of being granted the increases, State Farm agreed to obtain a $400 million infusion from its parent company and promised to stop group non-renewals of policies through the end of the year.

Consumer Watchdog, an advocacy group that opposed the rate hikes, argued that State Farm failed to prove that the increases were actuarially justified.

For CalMatters, I'm Levi Sumagaysay.