This is State Farm's second request for a rate decrease in two years. Last year State Farm, the largest home owners' insurer nationwide and in the Golden State, reduced rates by 6.2 percent in California, said local State Farm spokesman Bill Sirola.

State Farm's request is in sharp contrast to Allstate Insurance Co. 's request last week to raise home owners' rates by an average of 12.2 percent, or an estimated $96 million in annual premium.

"Different companies have different financial models," Sirola said Wednesday in defense of rival Allstate. "I know they're going to take a pounding."

Allstate, the state's third-largest home owners' insurer, said in a news release Friday that its new rating plan is designed "to preserve the company's ability to write homeowners insurance in California given the state's vulnerability to natural disasters."

State Farm, on the other hand, found that it could lower rates to reflect recent loss trends. The insurer has not raised home owners' rates in several years, Sirola said.

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