California's insurance chief rejects State Farm's 'emergency' rate hike, setting stage for a crucial industry showdown.

In a rebuke to the state’s largest insurance company, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced Friday he will not grant State Farm General’s request for an emergency rate hike in the wake of the Los Angeles wildfires.

In a letter to the insurer, Lara said under Proposition 103, State Farm has the burden of explaining why the rate hike is needed now — which he says the company has “not met.”