Category: Insurance
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ACA health plan payments more than double in 2026 as a boosted tax credit expires
The extra help that held down Affordable Care Act premiums for the past several years is gone, and the difference is showing up as a much bigger monthly bill. The enhanced premium tax credits expired at the end of 2025, and the health-policy research group KFF estimates that the amount marketplace enrollees pay out of…
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Car insurance now averages about $2,256 a year, and it keeps climbing
Car insurance has quietly become one of the fastest-rising fixed costs in the household budget, and 2026 offers little relief. The typical U.S. driver is on track to pay about $2,256 a year for auto coverage, and premiums are still climbing in most of the country. For a two-car household, that trend can add several…
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Marketplace health premiums are more than doubling, about $1,000 a year more, as enhanced ACA tax credits lapse
If you buy your health insurance through the marketplace, brace yourself for a much bigger bill. The enhanced tax credits that quietly held down premiums for millions of people have expired, and the change is landing squarely on household budgets. On average, analysts estimate marketplace enrollees will pay roughly double what they did before, about…
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Home insurers are dropping loyal customers, with non-renewals up as much as 216% since 2018 in disaster-prone areas
You can pay your home insurance bill on time for years and still open the mailbox to find your company has decided not to renew you. That is happening more often, and now there are hard numbers to show it. A first-of-its-kind national report finds that company-initiated non-renewals have climbed steeply since 2018, hitting hardest…
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$5 billion is going back to State Farm auto customers, averaging $100 a vehicle, and former customers still qualify
A new primary record puts State Farm’s largest policyholder dividend has moved from announcement to payment into practical household terms. Timing, eligibility and remedy determine whether State Farm’s largest policyholder dividend has moved from announcement to payment changes a real budget. The official details of State Farm’s largest policyholder dividend has moved from announcement to…
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Home insurance premiums are up as much as 43% since 2018, and nonrenewals have more than doubled
Homeowners are being squeezed from both sides of the insurance contract. State-regulator data show inflation-adjusted premiums rose as much as 43.3% in one region from 2018 through 2024, while insurer-initiated nonrenewal rates rose between 96% and 216%. A higher bill is painful; losing the policy can threaten a mortgage. The national numbers hide wide regional…
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With most private insurance, covered emergency care cannot cost more than in-network sharing
An emergency room outside a private health plan’s network generally cannot turn a covered emergency into out-of-network cost sharing. For most private insurance, the No Surprises Act limits the patient’s copayment, coinsurance and deductible treatment to the in-network level. The protection does not make emergency care free, and federal exceptions—especially ground ambulances—still matter. Emergency services…
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Car insurance prices fell 2% in June after a 1.7% May drop
Two consecutive declines in the national motor-vehicle-insurance price index are a welcome break after years of sharp premium increases. The index fell 2% in June following a 1.7% May decline. That does not automatically lower a policyholder’s next renewal, but it gives households a reason to test whether insurers are competing more aggressively for their…
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Some direct-primary-care fees up to $150 monthly can now be paid tax-free from an HSA.
A monthly primary-care membership used to create a tax problem for some health-savings-account users. Beginning in 2026, a qualifying direct-primary-care arrangement no longer automatically blocks an otherwise eligible person from contributing to an HSA, and HSA money can cover qualifying periodic fees tax-free. The change is narrower than a blanket approval for every medical membership.…
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Flood Insurance: Why Homeowners Policies Don’t Cover It
Standard homeowners insurance excludes flood damage. Here’s how the National Flood Insurance Program works, what it covers, and why the 30-day wait matters.
