insurance
Americannoun
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insurances
plural
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the act, system, or business of insuring property, life, one's person, etc., against loss or harm arising in specified contingencies, as fire, accident, death, disablement, or the like, in consideration of a payment proportionate to the risk involved.
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coverage by contract in which one party agrees to indemnify or reimburse another for loss that occurs under the terms of the contract.
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the contract itself, set forth in a written or printed agreement or policy.
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the amount for which anything is insured.
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an insurance premium.
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any means of guaranteeing against loss or harm.
Taking vitamin C is viewed as an insurance against catching colds.
adjective
noun
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the act, system, or business of providing financial protection for property, life, health, etc, against specified contingencies, such as death, loss, or damage, and involving payment of regular premiums in return for a policy guaranteeing such protection
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the state of having such protection
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Also called: insurance policy. the policy providing such protection
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the pecuniary amount of such protection
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the premium payable in return for such protection
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( as modifier )
insurance agent
insurance broker
insurance company
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a means of protecting or safeguarding against risk or injury
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of insurance
Explanation
Insurance is a contract where you pay a little money at a time so you can be compensated later, especially in the case of a disaster. Many people consider insurance to be making a kind of bet that bad things will happen: that's a good bet to make, because nobody is lucky forever. Legally, you need car insurance to drive. Without medical insurance, a serious illness could leave you broke. Life insurance is important so your family gets support when you die. House or apartment insurance will help if you have a fire. Insurance agents sell insurance policies, and they always have lots of customers.
Vocabulary lists containing insurance
Personal Finance and Financial Literacy - Introductory
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Personal Finance and Financial Literacy - High School
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Economics
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Commissioner Rob Manfred said the league is keeping an eye on developments surrounding Walter’s insurance empire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
He could generate a significant share of the more than $20 billion he might need to recapitalize the insurance companies and satisfy state regulators.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
The Binance hack shines a light through the holes in cybersecurity on crypto exchanges and the insurance coverage they may or may not have.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
“Social Security, taxes, insurance and portfolio withdrawals are interconnected. Making each decision in isolation can create unnecessary costs. You may be planning for another 30 years or more.”
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026
In 2004 he began to buy insurance on companies he thought might suffer in a real estate downturn: mortgage lenders, mortgage insurers, and so on.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
It said it would waive payments of "tariffs" and "Iranian insurances" for ships passing during the 60 days.
From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026
Actor James Woods, who lost his home in the Palisades fire, tweeted Tuesday that “one of the major insurances companies canceled all the policies in our neighborhood about four months ago.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 2025
The act only covers health insurance, excluding long-term, disability, life, and other insurances.
From Science Daily ● May 2, 2024
There have been reports of coding issues and some hiccups with some insurances not covering the cost of the vaccines, but "hopefully these issues will get ironed out very soon," says Hotez.
From National Geographic ● Oct. 3, 2023
It comprises a series of insurances for laborers, to secure them from losses by sickness, accidents, invalidity, and age.
From A History of Germany From the Earliest Times to the Present Day by Bayard Taylor
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
