Californians are bracing for a big shake up– an earthquake of sorts in health insurance. Blue Shield of California is headed for another rate hike, which will hit March 1, 2011 according to reports. At that time 193,000 policyholders will experience increases of about 30%. This will be the third rate jump in six months, increasing costs by about 59%. “For families, there are few things as painful as a 59 percent health insurance rate increase,” Doug Heller, from the Santa Monica-based advocacy group, Consumer Watchdog told the International Business Times.

California’s Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones is asking for Blue Shield to hold off on the bump, even though he doesn’t have the authority to stop it. “Many Californians will no doubt be surprised to learn that the Insurance Commissioner does not have the legal authority to reject excessive health insurance premium increases,” Jones, a former state lawmaker, told the International Business Times. “I have fought hard to give the Insurance Commissioner this authority for the last six years. I have authored strong legislation to give the Insurance Commissioner the authority to reject excessive premium increases, only to see it defeated in the Legislature by conservative legislators.”

According to reports, Blue Shield issued this statement concerning their March 1 increase: “Our individual market medical costs are rising rapidly due to higher provider prices, increased utilization, and the fact that healthier people are dropping coverage during a bad economy,” the statement read. “Blue Shield of California expects to lose tens of millions of dollars on its individual healthcare business in both 2010 and 2011.”

Hulk Hogan is fighting– but not in a ring. This time he’s in a battle with his ex-wife and his insurance company. Hogan, also known as Terry Bollea is suing his ex-wife Linda over insurance issues. Back in 2007, Hogan’s son Nick was in a car crash that seriously injured a passenger, John Graziano, according to reports. The insurance company, Wells Fargo Southeast, paid out its maximum coverage of $250,000, leaving Hogan and his family with the rest of the financial burden.

The Hogan family also faced legal battles over negligence. “The resulting personal injury damage to Graziano was ultimately far greater than Hogan’s policy limits of only $250,000 per injured person, and with no excess/umbrella insurance coverage, Hogan’s net worth was clearly exposed and unprotected,” the lawsuit, filed April 22, 2010 stated, according to reports.

According to reports Terry says Linda served as his business manager and was responsible for maintaining his insurance policy. That’s why he’s now suing her. Hogan’s lawyer Wil Florin was quoted in the St. Petersburg Times saying that while he “does not relish litigation with his ex-wife, her refusal to accept legal responsibility for her errors and omissions necessitates this action.” Hogan has recently remarried.

Divorce can be messy, heartbreaking and incredibly expensive. But now an entrepreneurial divorcee has developed divorce insurance, according to the New York Daily News. The WedLock policyholder gets a nice chunk of change when the marriage ends. The product was developed by John Logan, a North Carolina man who lost his savings when he and his wife broke up. The coverage costs $16 a month for $1250 worth of insurance.

In order to prevent fraud, WedLock requires couples to pay into the policy for four years before receiving any kind of payout. According to the New York Daily News there’s also an additional $250 premium for each additional year of marriage beyond the fourth year. According to an example provided by the paper, someone who buys ten units from WedLock who gets divorced after being married for ten years would have invest $19,188 for the coverage, but would receive $27,500. “The best insurance against a painful, financially devastating divorce is to find a way to be happy in your marriage,” relationship coach Mimi Daniel told Time Magazine. “Divorce insurance implies from the beginning that divorce is already an option.”

However Logan expects his company to be popular. It may even become a good gift option for those who want to buy the couple something other than china or pillow cases. “Mom or Dad could buy this for their son or daughter without them knowing about it,” he told the newspaper. The company launched in early August and although Logan won’t say how business has been he says some policyholders are purchasing lots of divorce insurance with monthly premiums over $1,000 a month.

Some experts say that insurance agents, brokers and small insurance companies may become victims of the massive health care overhaul set to kick in in 2014. The health care reform bill will impact nearly every corner of the health care industry which makes up one-sixth of the US economy. According to a report by Time Magazine, agents and brokers are concerned they’ll soon be viewed as redundant under the new legislation.

At a recent meeting of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, 25 commissioners passed a resolutions stating that health care reform should “recognize and protect the indispensable role that licensed insurance professionals play in serving consumers.” At issue is how insurance companies should now calculate their medical and administrative expenses. Most experts believe health care reform will put an end to agent and broker commissions which make up anywhere from 5-20 percent of premiums. Health care reform may also make their roles as sales people and marketers unnecessary as new state insurance exchanges will be posted online by 2014. This will be a place where people and small groups can go to purchase insurance directly.

One role that brokers and agents are confident they’ll still be able to fulfill is that of a navigator through the health insurance maze. “More of the upfront stuff will be done online, but it won’t replace the service,” Janet Trautwein, CEO of the National Association of Health Underwriters, which represents agents and brokers, told Time Magazine.

With the capital-relief proposal recently approved by insurance regulators, more life insurance companies will be able to make better use of deferred-tax assets. The move is championed by various consumer groups. It was originally submitted by the American Council of Life Insurers in 2008.

With consumers looking to cut costs anywhere they can in the current economic climate, many people are looking at car insurance as one area where they wouldn’t mind making a few scale-backs.

We often think of so many things important to us in life; our jobs, our families, the direction we take with our investments and life goals.

Auto insurance is an important form of protection to have, for you and all other motorists who share the road with you. Auto insurance is a legal requirement to save all motorists from a law suit resulting from a traffic infraction or an accident. Property owners are also protected from loss due to damages done in an accident.

Anyone who is a business owner and in the market for automobile insurance for their business transportation may wonder if it will be a different type of insurance than what someone would obtain for their personal vehicle. Generally, business auto insurance is not that much different. Both types of policies will contain basic coverage for liability, collision, comprehensive and personal injury or medical coverage.

College students already have enough expenses trying to further their education, yet most people know that young people pay more for automobile insurance than anyone else. Students can expect this to continue for quite some time, too. Policies can vary from a few thousand dollars a year all the way up to as much as ten or eleven thousand dollars, all depending on what kind of car, the driving record of the student, how old the vehicle is, and the city and state where the vehicle will be used.