# insurance

Pronunciation: US say "in-SHUUR-uhns" /ɪnˈʃʊɹ.əns/; UK say "in-SHOOR-uhns" /ɪnˈʃʊə.ɹəns/

## Noun

1. An arrangement you pay for, or the coverage it provides, under which a company pays compensation if a covered loss, injury or death happens.
   - Simple: A deal where you pay a company and it pays money if a loss it covers happens, such as an accident.
   - _After the flood, families without insurance struggled to rebuild._
   - _The gallery pays for insurance on every painting it ships overseas._
2. The business of providing insurance; the industry that sells and manages coverage against loss.
   - Simple: The business of selling insurance to people and companies.
   - _He left banking for a career in insurance._
   - _Insurance is heavily regulated at the state level in the United States._
3. A precaution taken or kept to guard against a possible future problem or the harm it could cause.
   - Simple: Anything you do now to protect yourself from a problem later.
   - _The director shot a second ending as insurance in case test audiences hated the first._
   - _Carrying a paper map is cheap insurance when hiking beyond cell coverage._
4. A bet made after the deal that pays off if the dealer turns out to have blackjack.
   - Simple: An extra bet in the card game blackjack that wins if the dealer has a blackjack.
   - _Half the table bought insurance when the dealer's ace appeared._
   - _He took insurance, and the dealer's hidden ten made the bet pay off._

## Origin

This word comes from the older form "ensurance"; compare also "assurance."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/insurance (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).