insure

American  

[in-shoor, -shur] / ɪnˈʃʊər, -ˈʃɜr /

verb (used with object)

insures, present (3rd person singular) insured, past participle, past insuring present participle

1. to guarantee against loss or harm.

   Synonyms:

   warrant

2. to secure indemnity to or on, in case of loss, damage, or death.

3. to issue or procure an insurance policy on or for.

4. ensure.

   Synonyms:

   assure

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verb (used without object)

insures, present (3rd person singular) insured, past participle, past insuring present participle

1. to issue or procure an insurance policy.

insure British  

/ ɪnˈʃʊə, -ˈʃɔː /

verb

1. (often foll by against) to guarantee or protect (against risk, loss, etc)

   we insured against disappointment by making an early reservation

2. (often foll by against) to issue (a person) with an insurance policy or take out an insurance policy (on)

   his house was heavily insured against fire

   after all his car accidents the company refuses to insure him again

3. another word (esp US) for ensure ensure

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Usage

What's the difference between insure, ensure, and assure? Insure typically means to guarantee against loss or harm or, more specifically, to cover with insurance. Ensure most commonly means to guarantee or make certain, as in Working hard ensures success. Assure usually means to tell someone something with confidence or to cause someone to know something with certainty—it often means the same thing as reassure. It’s no wonder there’s confusion between the three words—all three are verbs that are based on the Latin root sēcūrus, meaning safe. Making things even more confusing is the fact that ensure and insure can be used interchangeably in most senses. Still, insure is much more commonly used in the context of insurance, like car insurance, health insurance, and homeowner’s insurance. These kinds of insurance insure you—they give you coverage that provides you with compensation in certain cases and situations. Ensure is typically used in a more general way in the context of actions that are done to make sure that something happens or is the case, as in We need to ensure that the meeting starts on time. Assure is always used in the context of communication, especially in situations in which someone is trying to make someone else feel better about something. It’s used in the phrase rest assured. Here’s a quick cheat sheet to remember the most common uses of each word:insure = cover with insuranceensure = make sureassure = reassureHere’s an example of insure, ensure, and assure used correctly in a sentence. Example: She assured me that the company has ensured that every employee has the opportunity to be insured. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between insure, ensure, and assure.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• insurability
  noun
• overinsure
  verb (used with object)
• preinsure
  verb (used with object)
• insurable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• insuring
  present
• insured
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• insure
  simple
• insures
  simple
• have insured
  perfect
• has insured
  perfect
• am insuring
  progressive
• are insuring
  progressive
• is insuring
  progressive
• have been insuring
  perfect progressive
• has been insuring
  perfect progressive

Past

• insured
  simple
• had insured
  perfect
• was insuring
  progressive
• were insuring
  progressive
• had been insuring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will insure
  simple
• will have insured
  perfect
• will be insuring
  progressive
• will have been insuring
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of insure

1400–50; late Middle English; variant of ensure

Explanation

To insure is to guarantee or protect the monetary value of something with, as you might imagine, insurance. We insure, or protect, our homes and cars and other valuables against loss or damage from accidents by taking out insurance policies. To insure is to pay an insurance company regularly so that if something goes wrong, they’ll help cover the costs. Although it’s certainly reassuring to have insurance, the word insure always has a financial aspect.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

insure insures insured insuring

"They are expensive – though not as expensive as some people might think – but by making them easier to repair and cheaper to insure, more people will buy them."

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

“We should insure against the possibility of larger second-round effects until we have evidence to determine they are not materializing,” said Megan Greene, one of four MPC members who don’t work full-time for the BOE.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

"The state cannot insure citizens and companies against every external crisis," he said.

From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 2026

My brothers and I are willing to split the cost of life insurance for her, if we can find a policy that would insure her.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 14, 2026

Just before leaving Chicago Holmes acquired a life insurance policy, from the Fidelity Mutual Life Association of Philadelphia, to insure Pitezel’s life for $10,000.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-backed bank insures deposits of up to $250,000 per individual.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 16, 2026

The U.S. government insures deposits of up to $250,000 but also imposes regulations on banks’ business activities and financial strength.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026

So does the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, which insures anyone with a U.S. bank account.

From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2025

The need and the opportunity matched up, and Morey’s insurance company still insures Japanese communities in California and Hawaii.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 31, 2025

More uniform cooling insures that the expansion or change of form due to heating will be more equal.

From Aviation Engines Design?Construction?Operation and Repair by Pag?, Victor Wilfred

Outside of the trials, they can't be insured, and thus can only legally be ridden on private land, with the owner's permission.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

His perceived inclination to stem market panic earned a moniker, the “Greenspan put”—as if the Fed itself was a put option that insured investors against losses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026

If you have expensive rocks, make sure they’re insured and don’t store them in obvious places, such as the bedroom.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 3, 2026

California has tried to keep people insured by using state tax money to fill in the gap for lower-income families.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026

On board ship, the messages from our Navajo net coordinated gunfire, insured resupply, and helped our commanders estimate what had to be done.

From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac

Yet despite the theoretical value of these contracts in insuring against outliving one’s wealth, people very rarely buy annuities.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 26, 2026

The cost of insuring against a CoreWeave default has dropped sharply, with spreads on the company’s five-year credit default swaps falling 23% this year as of Thursday, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

From Barron's ● Apr. 10, 2026

“This makes insuring a mobile home somewhat optional. Other than liability and contents coverage, you might consider just having a reserve fund of what you estimate it would cost to replace.”

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 28, 2026

The cost of insuring Qatar’s debt is still cheaper than what it takes to insure Israeli or Saudi debt, reflecting its massive sovereign-wealth and foreign-currency reserves.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026

The data from the mortgage servicers was worse every month—the loans underlying the bonds were going bad at faster rates—and yet the price of insuring those loans, they said, was falling.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Related Words

• assure
• cover
• guarantee
• hedge
• safeguard
• shield
• underwrite