indemnity

American  

[in-dem-ni-tee] / ɪnˈdɛm nɪ ti /

noun

• indemnities
  plural

1. protection or security against damage or loss.

2. compensation for damage or loss sustained.

3. something paid by way of such compensation.

4. protection, as by insurance, from liabilities or penalties incurred by one's actions.

5. legal exemption from penalties attaching to unconstitutional or illegal actions, granted to public officers and other persons.

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indemnity British  

/ ɪnˈdɛmnɪtɪ /

noun

1. compensation for loss or damage; reimbursement

2. protection or insurance against future loss or damage

3. legal exemption from penalties or liabilities incurred through one's acts or defaults

4. (in Canada) the salary paid to a member of Parliament or of a legislature

5. an act of Parliament granting exemption to public officers from technical penalties that they may have been compelled to incur

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Usage

What does indemnity mean? Indemnity is protection or security against damage or loss, or compensation for damages or money spent. Insurance coverage provides indemnity to a person (or organization) by insuring them for certain potential situations, such as damages to their property from natural disasters or accidents. Indemnity is commonly used in legal contracts to secure protection against being sued or being held responsible for an accident. It’s often seen in the phrase indemnity clause. The verb form of indemnity is indemnify, which means to provide such protection or security, typically in the form of insurance. Outside the context of insurance, indemnity is sometimes used in a metaphorical way to mean protection, as in Your wealth does not provide indemnity from disease. Example: The whole purpose of car insurance is so that you have indemnity in case you get into an accident—buying insurance after an accident happens won’t cover you.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• preindemnity
  noun
• anti-indemnity
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• indemnities
  plural

Etymology

Origin of indemnity

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English indem(p)nite, from Middle French indemnité, from Latin indemnitāt-, stem of indemnitās “security from financial loss”; see origin at in- ³, damn, -i-, -ty ²

Explanation

Indemnity is protection against loss or harm — it is most often used in insurance. If you suffer an injury or there's damage to your house, an indemnity makes up for the loss — if it's part of your insurance. An indemnity may also keep something or someone from being held responsible for harm. Protection indemnity is mainly offered for unlikely events. If you regularly crash hot-air balloons, you won’t get indemnity for the next one you rent. In fact, the balloon rental company will probably demand their own indemnity in case you crash again.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

indemnity indemnities

Seeking an order for heavier indemnity costs to be made against the authority, the barrister accused some of its representatives of a "scandalous abdication of responsibilities".

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

Nicklin rejected requests by Harry and the other celebrities to pay on a standard basis, instead favouring arguments by ANL that its costs should be repaid on a stricter so-called indemnity basis.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

Offerings known as indemnity plans might pay only a set amount toward a medical service, leaving you on the hook for the rest of the cost.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026

For Medicare Advantage customers, the extra insurance needed is coverage for hospital indemnity or specific major illnesses like cancer, so people don’t face high copays if they get sick.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2025

They were fiercely opposed to this particular settlement, in which they had to enumerate their crimes before receiving indemnity.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

"Recognising that UNRWA's financial situation remains dire, the agency took a decision which at least allows them to access financial resources rapidly, including separation indemnities."

From Barron's ● Jan. 7, 2026

So they scope out threats to their indemnities against weather and other disasters and ensure the cost of premiums reflects the odds of risk.

From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2023

“This approach quantifies whether indemnities in a given county are higher or lower in a year in which temperature or precipitation is higher or lower than average for that county,” the researchers wrote.

From Scientific American ● Aug. 6, 2021

Thus, many Germans felt they had been wronged twice: they had not “really” lost the war, yet they were forced to pay outrageous indemnities to the “victors.”

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2020

Those people, from the time they had set over us their governor Bismarck-Bohlen, had no doubt received orders to be careful with us, to treat us kindly, to promise us indemnities.

From The Pl?biscite or, A Miller's Story of the War by Alexandre Chatrian

Related Words

• compensation
• repayment
• restitution