CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : LOS ANGELES : State Farm Sues to Get Rate Hike

State Farm, the largest seller of auto insurance in California, filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court against state Insurance Commissioner Roxani Gillespie seeking either a rate increase for its 207,000 assigned-risk customers in the state or the right to stop accepting such customers. The lawsuit follows a similar complaint filed in the fall by the Allstate Co. That firm obtained an order last month from a Superior Court judge that would allow it to assess a 40% rate increase against “bad drivers” among its assigned-risk customers, but the order has since been stayed by the state Court of Appeal. Attorneys believe that disposition of the State Farm action will await a final ruling in the Allstate case. Gillespie has rejected any increase for now in assigned-risk rates affecting 1.2 million drivers statewide. The State Farm suit claims that the company is losing $3.5 million a week on assigned-risk customers.