Some State Farm policyholders in Tyler could pay almost 20 percent more in coming months for homeowner’s insurance compared to last year thanks to the company’s second substantial rate increase in eight months.

State Farm, Texas’ largest home insurer with about 30 percent of the market, issued a 4.5 percent rate hike effective June 1 for existing customers. The increase comes after an 8.5 percent rate change the company issued in the fall.

“They are both centered around our costs,” said Kevin Davis, a State Farm corporate spokesman out of Austin. “We’re constantly reviewing our rates and rate needs, and costs continue to rise in providing homeowner’s insurance.”

For a Smith County resident living in a basic frame home built after 2000, annual premiums are predicted to jump about $200, or 19 percent, according to an estimate calculator on the Texas Department of Insurance website.

State Farm representatives conversely said changes in annual premiums could vary greatly from customer to customer, depending upon a bevy of factors that include a home’s location, its building materials and the policyholder’s amount of coverage.

The insurer’s two rate increases are under review by the state’s Department of Insurance, which has expressed its disapproval of the hikes.

In a letter to State Farm in March, Mike Geeslin, Texas’ commissioner of insurance, asked the company to voluntarily withdraw its most recent rate increase. Geeslin suggested that the company’s pair of closely issued rate hikes “may indicate a lack of rate making discipline and lead to market instability.”

“Given that State Farm Lloyds is the market leader … other companies may follow suit” in raising rates, Geeslin wrote, adding “It appears that the timing of this is not in the best interests of Texas consumers. Customers deserve a stable and competitive market.”

The commissioner’s office previously recommended State Farm withdraw a rate increase in 2003 that the state agency deemed excessive. It marked the company’s last hike prior to 2009.

In the wake of the 2003 rate increase, the insurance commissioner last year ordered State Farm to pay $310 million to Texas policyholders in premium reimbursement, a demand that has seen the Department of Insurance and State Farm face off in court on multiple occasions.

The item remains in a Travis County court following an appeal from State Farm, officials said.

If the Department of Insurance deems the two most recent rate adjustments to be excessive, the commissioner again could order State Farm to reimburse Texas policyholders, said John Greely, a communications official with the state agency.

The agency has no timetable for its review of the two rate adjustments, Greely said.

Davis, meanwhile, said State Farm leadership continues to work closely with state officials in resolving the rate disagreements. The increases are not excessive, he said, and will not have a widespread impact on all customers.

Policyholders on the coast will experience a different rate adjustment than those in East Texas due to weather- and disaster-related risk, he said.

“From 2003 to now, our rates have always been fair and justified,” Davis said. “At the end of the day, our agents have been reaching out to our policyholders and letting them know what to expect.

“We’re also stressing the fact that policyholders need to contact their agents to find out what those averages (4.5 percent and 8.5 percent increases) really mean to their individual policies,” he added. “If they’re curious or concerned about any of this information, they can call their agents and can find out about any discounts they are eligible for.”