The California Department of Insurance is launching a "market conduct" exam into how State Farm General, the state's largest home insurer, is handling claims from the January fires after receiving numerous complaints from policyholders.

The investigation comes after California regulators approved State Farm’s request to raise premiums on an emergency interim basis. State Farm said the wildfires put the insurer in financial distress as it expected to pay $7 billion in claims related to the fires.

Just over five months since the fires devastated Southern California communities, the Department of Insurance said it had initiated a market conduct examination of State Farm, expanding an ongoing