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.

California’s insurance commissioner said his approval was conditioned on State Farm justifying its need for the increase by bringing data to a public hearing on April 8.