insurance n
1. promise of reimbursement in the case of loss; paid to people or companies so concerned about hazards that they have made prepayments to an insurance company
2. written contract or certificate of insurance; "you should have read the small print on your policy" [syn: policy, insurance policy]
3. protection against future loss [syn: indemnity]

Insurance \In*sur"ance\, n. [From Insure.]
1. The act of insuring, or assuring, against loss or damage by a contingent event; a contract whereby, for a stipulated consideration, called premium, one party undertakes to indemnify or guarantee another against loss by certain specified risks. Cf. Assurance, n., 6. Note: The person who undertakes to pay in case of loss is termed the insurer; the danger against which he undertakes, the risk; the person protected, the insured; the sum which he pays for the protection, the premium; and the contract itself, when reduced to form, the policy. --Johnson's Cyc.
2. The premium paid for insuring property or life.
3. The sum for which life or property is insured.
4. A guaranty, security, or pledge; assurance. [Obs.] The most acceptable insurance of the divine protection. --Mickle. Accident insurance, insurance against pecuniary loss by reason of accident to the person. Endowment insurance or assurance, a combination of life insurance and investment such that if the person upon whose life a risk is taken dies before a certain specified time the insurance becomes due at once, and if he survives, it becomes due at the time specified. Fire insurance. See under Fire. Insurance broker, a broker or agent who effects insurance. Insurance company, a company or corporation whose business it is to insure against loss, damage, or death. Insurance policy, a certificate of insurance; the document containing the contract made by an insurance company with a person whose property or life is insured. Life insurance. See under Life.

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In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the insurance; an insured, or policyholder, is the person or entity buying the insurance policy. 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.

The transaction involves the insured assuming a guaranteed and known relatively small loss in the form of payment to the insurer in exchange for the insurer's promise to compensate (indemnify) the insured in the case of a financial (personal) loss. The insured receives a contract, called the insurance policy, which details the conditions and circumstances under which the insured will be financially compensated.

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