UPDATE 1-Amerigroup posts Q2 loss on litigation charge

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July 23 (Reuters) - Health insurer Amerigroup Corp (AGP.N) posted a second-quarter loss due to a charge it took to resolve a civil litigation related to certain marketing practices of its former Illinois health plan.

The company posted a loss of $162.5 million, or $3.07 a share, compared with a profit of $32.8 million, or 61 cents a share, a year ago.

Excluding the charge, it earned 68 cents a share.

Analysts average forecast was a profit of 46 cents a share, before special items, according to Reuters Estimates.

The health insurer said it now expects to post a loss of $1.35 to $1.45 for the full year to include the impact of the litigation settlement. Excluding the charge, it expects earnings of $2.30 to $2.40 a share.

Analysts were expecting earnings of $2.30 a share.

In June, the company had suspended its 2008 earnings view of $2.35 to $2.45 a share, citing slow progress in talks seeking increased premium rates from Tennessee to offset higher medical costs it faced in the state.

Amerigroup shares closed at $26.70 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Jennifer Robin Raj in Bangalore; Editing by Himani Sarkar)