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The Woodbury Heights Board of Education on Tuesday announced a $2,080 increase in the cost of its excess-liability insurance policy and said that it would go shopping for lower rates with the New Jersey School Board Association Insurance Board. But the school board indicated that it did not expect to maintain its $2 million in coverage at the old rate of $800 a year, and that taxpayers ultimately would have to pay more to provide insurance coverage for the staff of Woodbury Heights Elementary School and for the school board.

If you're a Pennsylvania resident with Allstate Property & Casualty homeowners insurance, you may face an unpleasant surprise this fall: a sizable boost in your insurance premium. You can just suck it up - as Allstate undoubtedly expects most policyholders to do - or you can use it as a goad to do something you may find nearly as unpleasant: shop around for alternatives. It shouldn't have to be, as I'll explain. But first, a look at what's happening with Allstate. Citing what a spokeswoman calls "an unprecedented year with weather in Pennsylvania," Allstate has asked state officials to approve a plan that would raise premiums an average of 20 percent for the company's 195,000 policyholders - more than twice as steep an increase as sought by any other large insurer during the last six months, according to filings published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

WASHINGTON - Millions of seniors enrolled in some of the most popular Medicare prescription drug plans face double-digit premium hikes next year if they don't shop for a better deal, says a private firm that analyzes the highly competitive market. Seven of the top 10 prescription plans are raising their premiums by 11 percent to 23 percent, according to a report this week by Avalere Health. It's a reality check on a stream of upbeat Medicare announcements from the Obama administration, all against the backdrop of a hard-fought election.

This is a letter sent yesterday by the Eagles to their suiteholders and premium ticketholders: As you are aware, the Eagles confirmed last evening that we have signed Michael Vick to the team. You are our most valued customers and we understand that this decision may result in some personal soul searching for you, along with some public debate in the coming days and weeks. We do not want this to distract from the relationship we have with you, and we remain fully committed to putting the highest quality product on the field and delivering wins to Eagles fans.

Subaru has long had a reputation in this country for selling rugged all-wheel-drive vehicles popular with outdoors types. Now, the Japanese carmaker's parent, Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., wants to raise Subaru's image into the realm of premium-car brands - such as Audi, Volvo and Saab - without alienating loyal customers. Industry analysts said Subaru, which has its U.S. headquarters in Cherry Hill, was following a trend among automakers with middle-market brands. The goal is to charge more and increase profitability.

The payment last week of a $5,200 insurance premium is forcing officials here to consider withdrawing a claim with the insurance company that holds the performance bond for the Rolling Brook Farms housing development. Township Solicitor Michael Angelini filed a lawsuit Jan. 19 believing that the premium on the $420,000 performance bond had not been paid. When he learned Wednesday that the First Indemnity Insurance Co. of America in Parsipanny had received the annual payment, he said officials would decide whether to withdraw the claim.

The school district blinked. After two years, a bitter standoff between Cherry Hill's school system and its educational assistants' union appears to be ending. Superintendent Morton Sherman said yesterday that he would recommend the school board adopt a fact-finders' report that included modest raises over four years and higher health insurance co-pays but no union member contributions to insurance premiums. Sherman previously had said he would not recommend a contract unless it mandated that the union share premium costs.

Ben Davis, the former Malvern Prep star whose pro baseball career spanned 16 years in the major and minor leagues, and 60 feet, 6 inches of turf and dirt, has retired. The strong-armed catcher was drafted by the San Diego Padres with the second overall pick in 1995, and he played with three major-league teams from 1998 to 2004, batting .237 in 486 games. He was with eight minor-league clubs after that. Davis' hitting woes continued in the minors, and he converted into a pitcher after Baltimore cut him in 2008.

Every morning about 7, Lou Perseghin hears a ding on his smartphone and receives an e-mail inviting him to accomplish a daily challenge designed to improve his health and well-being. Some days the challenges may be physical, such as rising on your toes 10 times, or doing hip rolls, or flexing and stretching your fingers. On other days, the challenges may be aimed at emotional well-being - compliment yourself; take a few minutes to imagine a place that's beautiful to you; view three photos of a happy time in your life; change the playlist for your walks and workouts.

D EAR HARRY: I'm in a terrible dilemma over insurance. I am 35 and have recently become a first-time father to a beautiful baby girl. Naturally, the question of life insurance came up. We got seven calls from agents selling life insurance in the month following her birth. We contacted the guy who takes care of our car and homeowner's, and he came back with the statement that long-term disability insurance is more important. He said that death is more traumatic for the other family members, but disability is far more likely.

D EAR HARRY: A number of years ago, it was recommended that we attend a seminar given by an insurance company regarding long-term-care insurance. The speaker was convincing. He placed less emphasis on the need than on the low premiums we would have if we got the insurance at a young age. I bought the insurance. Over the years, the premiums increased several times. I understood that this was a result of a declining value of the dollar and the increases in life expectancy. I recently received a notice that my next premium would show an increase of 30 percent.

WASHINGTON - A new study finds insurance companies will have to pay out an average of 32 percent more for medical claims on individual health policies under President Obama's health-care overhaul. That could mean higher premiums for at least some Americans - those who are uninsured or who buy policies directly from an insurance company. But for those with an employer plan, like most workers and their families, odds are they won't have much to worry about. The administration is questioning the Society of Actuaries' study, saying that it doesn't give a full picture - and that costs will go down.

Company description: "It's hard to resist our Premium Cod Fillet. That's because we use only 100 percent cod straight from the North Pacific. Battered in light, crispy panko breading and topped with tartar sauce and fresh lettuce - all on a warm, toasted bun. " Chain: Wendy's. Location: 1101 Walnut St. Calories : 510, with 26 grams of fat and 970 milligrams of salt. Order time: About two minutes. Price : $5.79 for combo with small fries and a drink.

D EAR HARRY: I'm in a terrible dilemma over insurance. I am 35 and have recently become a first-time father to a beautiful baby girl. Naturally, the question of life insurance came up. We got seven calls from agents selling life insurance in the month following her birth. We contacted the guy who takes care of our car and homeowner's, and he came back with the statement that long-term disability insurance is more important. He said that death is more traumatic for the other family members, but disability is far more likely.

Only a small number of new DVDs will hit the market this week due to the holidays. Premium Rush, Grade B+ : The film would have been nothing more than a salute to Xtreme sports if director David Koepp hadn't turned the idea into a white-knuckle thrill ride that's a lean, mean biking machine. The vastly underappreciated Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Wilee, a law school grad who has traded a life of gray suits for the challenges of being a New York bike messenger. He's the kind of guy who lives life at such a breakneck speed, his bike doesn't have brakes.

Earlier this year, administrator Frank V. Aloise stood before staff members at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy with this news: Their health-care premiums would rise by zero. At Campus Apartments L.L.C., the student-housing developer and manager in West Philadelphia, the news from official Helen Marshall was the same: zero increase. At a time when average health-insurance premiums continue to go up - anywhere from 4 percent to 10 percent in 2012, depending on the study - these two organizations managed to bend the cost curve, as they say. How did they do it?

WASHINGTON - Millions of seniors enrolled in some of the most popular Medicare prescription drug plans face double-digit premium hikes next year if they don't shop for a better deal, says a private firm that analyzes the highly competitive market. Seven of the top 10 prescription plans are raising their premiums by 11 percent to 23 percent, according to a report this week by Avalere Health. It's a reality check on a stream of upbeat Medicare announcements from the Obama administration, all against the backdrop of a hard-fought election.

"PREMIUM RUSH" vaults immediately to front rank of action movies about bicycle messengers. Ahead of . . . was "Quicksilver" an action movie? It seemed more like one of those '80s movies about some guy struggling to find himself, before finally making it as a writer/fighter pilot/race driver/bartender/bike messenger, starring Michael J. Fox, Tom Cruise, Tom Cruise, Tom Cruise or Kevin Bacon. "Premium Rush" stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and his character, Wilee, seems initially to be cut from the same self-involved cloth - graduated from law school, declined to take the bar exam, became immersed in the daredevil world of trick-riding and paid the bills by hurtling dangerously through the streets of New York on a highway to the danger zone.

The 2011 HomeInsurance.com RateReport showed a considerable increase in average 12-month homeowners insurance premiums for new policies in December 2011, the website reported Wednesday. HomeInsurance.com's data represents about 15,000 policies sold across the United States. HomeInsurance.com's RateReport shows 12-month home insurance premiums in December 2011 were $810 nationwide, a 19 percent increase from January 2011, at $682. RateReport shows that on a nationwide basis, homeowners are paying, on average, $128 more per year for new homeowners insurance policies than they were at the beginning of the year.

WASHINGTON - More than three million health insurance policyholders and thousands of employers will share $1.3 billion in rebates this year, thanks to President Obama's health-care law, a nonpartisan research group said Thursday. The rebates should average $127 for the people who get them, and Democrats are hoping they will send an election-year message that Obama's much-criticized health-care overhaul is starting to pay dividends for consumers. Critics of the law call that wishful thinking.