COLUMBIA - As hurricane season approaches in June, some consumers can expect rising insurance rates along the coast, while other may not see rates go up at all.

While 10 insurers have raised rates lately, about 21 have lowered them, according to the state Insurance Department.

For instance, State Farm and South Carolina Farm Bureau, two of the state's largest insurers, haven't increased rates in the past year, said Allison Love, executive director of the South Carolina Insurance News Service. USAA and Allstate, also among the state's top five insurers, both have increased rates more than 6 percent, Love said.

But because insurers often raise rates on the coast while lowering them elsewhere, the overall rate increase or decrease doesn't give the full picture.

About 15 percent of the state's coastal consumers have wind-related damage insured through the South Carolina Wind and Hail Underwriting Association because regular insurance companies aren't willing to handle the policies. Rates for the association's policies have been fairly stable for the past few years, but a 4.3 percent rate increase will go into effect on June 1, said Smitty Harrison, the association's executive director.

Federal flood insurance also could get more expensive this year under changes Congress is considering, said Eugene Kinerney, a spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which runs the flood insurance program. Last May, rates rose about 2 percent.

The next adjustment will come in May, he said.

During a Cabinet meeting last week, Gov. Mark Sanford talked about the pocketbook pain some state residents feel.

"Our bill went up $3,000," Sanford said of his Sullivans Island home as state Insurance Director Eleanor Kitzman talked about the approach of hurricane season. "Is there a big bump all along the coast?"