State Farm may hike rates

State Farm Florida, the state’s largest private home insurer, hasn’t increased rates since 2006, and that means a coming jump will be a big one. State regulators are deliberating its request to raise prices an average of 47 percent — which translates to an increase of 45 to 70 percent in Miami-Dade County, 41 percent to 62 percent in most of Broward and much higher on the county’s barrier islands. The company filed a 600-page request with state officials on Wednesday. Last year, State Farm worked out an agreement with regulators to lower rates an average of 9 percent after taking advantage of lower-cost reinsurance offered by the state catastrophe fund.