Insurance

The OSU athletic department's bet on the deaths of 27 aging boosters with big life insurance policies backfired when not one died.

People who purchased long-term care insurance are getting a nasty shock: Insurers are demanding huge premium hikes.

In 2011, the average American wedding cost $26,501. With that kind of money on the line, and considering all the unforeseeable circumstances that could wreck your carefully laid plans, it's no surprise that a growing number of companies are offering wedding insurance.

Last week, we showed you how to check your hospital bill to make sure you weren't being overcharged. This week, we'll show you what to do when your insurance company refuses to pay.

Bogus burglaries, fake funerals, self-inflicted air rifle assaults -- people go to great lengths to convince insurers to cut a check to cover their personal and financial losses. But the financial gain from phony pain and suffering is often short-lived.

The woes Social Security faces have generated plenty of worried talk lately, but even if nothing changes, it'll be solvent until 2036. But Medicare, the other major government program that retirees rely on, is on course for financial disaster years sooner. That program, of course, is Medicare, and the funding situation for the portion of its benefits that retirees receive looks even scarier than Social Security's prospects right now.

Insurance companies take notice of customers who file a lot of claims. At some point, these become unprofitable customers, driving their insurers to raise their rates -- or cancel or refuse to renew their policies. With that in mind, here are five situations where it may be less costly in the long run if you simply skip filing a claim and pay for the losses yourself.