insurance

American  

[in-shoor-uhns, -shur-] / ɪnˈʃʊər əns, -ˈʃɜr- /

noun

insurances plural

1. 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.

2. coverage by contract in which one party agrees to indemnify or reimburse another for loss that occurs under the terms of the contract.

3. the contract itself, set forth in a written or printed agreement or policy.

4. the amount for which anything is insured.

5. an insurance premium.

6. any means of guaranteeing against loss or harm.

   Taking vitamin C is viewed as an insurance against catching colds.

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adjective

1. of or relating to a score that increases a team's lead and insures that the lead will be held if the opposing team should score once more.

   The home run gave the team an insurance run, making the score 7-5.

insurance British  

/ ɪnˈʃʊərəns, -ˈʃɔː- /

noun

1. 1. 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

   2. the state of having such protection

   3. Also called: insurance policy.  the policy providing such protection

   4. the pecuniary amount of such protection

   5. the premium payable in return for such protection

   6. ( as modifier )

      insurance agent

      insurance broker

      insurance company

2. a means of protecting or safeguarding against risk or injury

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• noninsurance
  noun
• preinsurance
  noun
• proinsurance
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• insurances
  plural

Etymology

Origin of insurance

First recorded in 1545–55; insure + -ance

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

insurance insurances

Lloyd’s of London called out the behavior of its former chief executive John Neal over his close workplace relationship with another senior leader at the insurance marketplace.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Voters ultimately passed Proposition 103, which promised insurance rate roll-backs and created the elected state insurance commissioner role.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

Survey respondents told the firm that demand for vet services was still strong, and that more people have been using pet insurance to cover their pets.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026

However it now says "financial clarity", provided by an insurance settlement regarding the 2018 blaze, has shown it "cannot take forward the faithful reinstatement on its own."

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

He didn’t know exactly why all these banks were suddenly so keen to buy insurance on subprime mortgage bonds, but there was one obvious reason: The loans suddenly were going bad at an alarming rate.

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

They effected insurances, made loans on bottomry, and it has been supposed that their leathern money may have been of the nature of our bank notes.

From History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, Volume I (of 2) Revised Edition by Draper, John William

Related Words

• allowance
• coverage
• guarantee