Noun

Singular insurance

Plural usually uncountable; plural insurances

insurance (usually uncountable; plural insurances)

1. A means of indemnity against a future occurrence of an uncertain event.

   The car was totalled, but fortunately I had insurance.

2. The business of providing insurance.

   After five years in banking, I switched to insurance.

3. Metaphoric: Any attempt to anticipate an unfavorable event.

   The sky was clear, but I took my umbrella for insurance.

4. Blackjack: A bet made after the deal, which pays off if the dealer has blackjack.

   I only take insurance if the count is right.

5. (countable) An insurance policy
   • 2009 February 18, Cheryl Critchley, “Free child care for Victorian bushfire victims”, Herald Sun:

     "The children need to get back to some level of normalcy and their families can certainly use some respite to deal with things such as insurances, licences and other things they have lost," he said.

Related terms

• automobile insurance
• car insurance
• casualty insurance
• credit insurance
• earthquake insurance
• fire insurance
• flood insurance
• freight insurance
• group insurance
• health insurance
• insure

• insurer
• insurance adjuster
• insurance agent
• insurance agency
• insurance claim
• insurance company
• insurance fraud
• insurance plan
• insurance policy
• insurance premium

• liability insurance
• life insurance
• malpractice insurance
• no-fault insurance
• pet insurance
• property insurance
• reinsurance
• term life insurance
• transportation insurance
• unemployment insurance
• whole-life insurance

Insurance, in law and economics, is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for a premium, and can be thought of as a guaranteed and known small loss to prevent a large, possibly devastating loss. An insurer is a company selling the insurance; an insured or policyholder is the person or entity buying the insurance. The insurance rate is a factor used to determine the amount to be charged for a certain amount of insurance coverage, called the premium. Risk management, the practice of appraising and controlling risk, has evolved as a discrete field of study and practice.