The recent comments comparing auto insurance to health insurance seem a bit confusing. I suppose that I could agree, at some level, that driving is a “privilege.” But, this is 2012, not 1912. We have a federal highway system, as well as state and county government roadways, with all the accompanying taxes, rules and regulations.

Your ability to earn an income is your greatest asset. Yet most people are more likely to insure their home and car before their income. Could you continue to pay your bills and take care of your family if you were unable to work for any length of time due to illness or an injury?

INDIANAPOLIS — Health insurer WellPoint blames a shift in demographics and rising medical costs for its planned 39 percent rate hike for some California customers.

Health insurance premium costs for private-sector employees skyrocketed more than 100 percent from 1996 through 2006, according to new statistics from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Despite numerous complaints from north Scottsdale residents about flooding, flood insurance rates are declining here after a federal study credited city staff with superior flood plain management.

Gov. Janet Napolitano wants federal officials to rescind a new policy that would hamper her ability to expand government-subsidized health care for Arizona children.

MINNEAPOLIS - The stock options scandal claimed its biggest corporate chief yet on Sunday, with UnitedHealth Group saying Chairman and CEO William McGuire would step down because an outside report found that his option grants ‘‘were likely backdated.’’

NEW YORK - Tension typically defines contract negotiations between health insurers and health care providers, but the haggling has taken an ugly turn lately.

The economic repercussions of Hurricane Katrina are being felt in Scottsdale. The city will be able to get only one-fourth the flood insurance it had last year, and it’s going to cost more, officials said.

Some people in need of unemployment insurance checks are having to wait more than a month for their money because the state closed a telephone call center that handled filings, according to former call center employees.

Some people in need of unemployment insurance checks are having to wait more than a month for their money because the state closed a telephone call center that handled filings, according to former call center employees.

The economic repercussions of Hurricane Katrina are being felt in Scottsdale. The city will be able to get only one-fourth the flood insurance it had last year, and it’s going to cost more, officials said.

NEW YORK - When Arnaud Durieux needed to get his teeth fixed about six months ago, the freelance Web designer caught a flight from New York to his native France.

July 22, 2004

Jodie Jeffery’s Mesa family room is crowded with gifts from her son’s funeral — a photo collage made by a friend, a framed football jersey from teammates, and a table covered with flowers.

MINNEAPOLIS - Travelers Property Casualty Corp. is combining with The St. Paul Cos. Inc. in a $16.5 billion stock deal that will create the nation’s second-largest business insurer.

In his State of the Union message, President Bush called for controls on the burgeoning cost of medical malpractice insurance in some states. On Thursday legislation was introduced to address the problem. This bill, or something very close to it, should be passed as quickly as possible.

Last week, the Arizona Department of Insurance held public meetings on its proposed health insurance rate review rulemaking in Tucson, Phoenix and Flagstaff. Public health and consumer groups testified to the need for increased transparency and consumer involvement in the rate review process.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says proposed increases in health insurance premiums for customers in five states have been deemed "unreasonable" by the agency.

The already embattled Fiesta Bowl has a new legal fight on its hands.

Insurance regulators in Arizona have seized the main subsidiary of private mortgage insurer PMI Group Inc., which will begin paying claims at just 50 percent.