All about Insurance

Insurance is a legal agreement between two parties – the insurer and the insured, also known as insurance coverage or insurance policy. The insurer provides financial coverage for the losses of the insured that s/he may bear under certain circumstances. Let’s discuss in detail what insurance is and how it works, the insurance benefits, and types.

Insurance – Definition and Meaning

Insurance coverage can be defined as a contract as a financial protection policy. This policy covers the monetary risks of an individual due to unpredictable contingencies. The insured is the policyholder whereas the insurer is the insurance-providing company/the insurance carrier/the underwriter. The insurers provide financial coverage or reimbursement in many cases to the policyholder.

The policyholder pays a certain amount called a ‘premium’ to the insurance company against which the latter provides insurance cover. The insurer assures that it shall cover the policyholder’s losses subject to specific terms and conditions. Premium payment decides the assured sum for insurance coverage or ‘policy limit’.

Features of Insurance Coverage

Insurance coverage has the below-mentioned salient features:

• It is a kind of risk management plan to use an insurance policy as a hedge against an uncertain loss.
• Insurance coverage does not mitigate the magnitude of loss one may face. It only assures that the loss is shared and distributed among multiple people.
• Various clients of an insurance company pool in their risks. Hence, they pay the premiums together. So when one or a few incur a financial loss, the claimed money is given out of this accumulated fund. This makes each client bear a nominal fee.
• Insurance coverage can be provided for medical expenses, vehicle damage, property loss/damage, etc. depending on the type of insurance.
• Premium, policy limit, and deductible are the main components of an insurance coverage policy. The policy buyer should check them thoroughly while buying an insurance policy.

Benefits of Insurance Coverage

An insurance policy performs various functions and comes with multiple benefits. Below are some of its most fundamental advantages, along with some of the secondary and the rest are additional ones. The basic functions of insurance coverage are:

1. Provides Protection

Insurance coverage does reduce the impact of loss that one bears in perilous situations. It provides monetary reimbursement during financial crises. It not only protects the insured from financial woes but also helps in checking mental stress arising out of it.

2. Provides Certainty

Insurance coverage provides a feeling of assurance to the policyholders. The insured pays a small portion of the income for this certainty that will help in the future. So, there is a certainty of handsome financial aid against the premium. It will protect the policy buyer when met with accidents, hazards, or any vulnerabilities.

3. Risk Sharing

The very manner in which insurance policy functions makes it a cooperative scheme. An insurer would be unable to pay from one’s capital. An insurance company pools in collective risks and premiums because it covers a large number of risk-exposed people. The payout to the one who claims insurance coverage is out of this fund. Thereby, all policyholders share the risk of the one who actually suffered the loss.

About the Author

Author: Paul William

I am an American Economist (Ph.D. MIT). Over 1981-88, I was an Assistant Professor of Economics at the City University of New York. I have also assisted the Republic Government of USA I have worked in several countries in Europe and Africa as a consultant. I have also been a consultant for a variety of U.S. agencies. These include the D.C. Public Service Commission, the D.C. Department of Energy and Wind and Solar Energy California.