Insurer aggressively grew in Los Angeles, despite getting overweight on fire risk, but decided to cut thousands of policies last year, adding to the state’s home-insurance crisis.

State Farm has received more than 8,700 claims from the Los Angeles fires alone and paid more than $1 billion to customers, according to the company. The insurer expects to pay out significantly more, and the fires will be the costliest in the history of State Farm, the company said.

State Farm General asked Monday for an emergency rate increase averaging 22%, saying the Los Angeles County fires have put California's largest insurer in dire financial straits.