What is Insurance? How does it work? 3 Important Types of Insurance

What is Insurance

Insurance is defined as a contract, represented by a policy, in which a person or entity receives financial protection or reimbursement against losses from an insurance company. The company consolidates customer risks so that payments are more affordable for the insured.

Insurance policies are used to guard against the risk of economic losses, large and small, which may arise from damage to the insured or his property or liability for damage or injury caused to a third party.

Simply put, insurance is a risk transfer mechanism, in which you transfer your risk to the insurance company and get coverage for financial losses you might face due to unforeseen events. And the amount you pay for this arrangement is called the premium. Insurance is available for a variety of risks, from your life to the cell phones you use. Ultimately, protecting what’s “important” to you is essential.

How Does Insurance Work

With insurance, you choose what you want to be protected against.

Then, your insurer calculates the risk of occurrence of the events to be insured and the insurer or insurer will determine the price you will have to pay (your premium).

Here are the three main steps:

• Choose a policy. An insurance policy is a document that lists exactly what you are and are not protected against. For example, a travel insurance policy may say that it will cover your medical expenses if you are injured while abroad, but not if you do something dangerous, such as skiing.

• Pay the premium. The premium is the amount you pay every month or every year (or sometimes just once) for insurance. The amount you pay depends on the risk and the value of the events you are insuring. For example, if you are an inexperienced driver, you are more likely to have an accident, so your auto insurance will cost more, and it will be even more if you drive an expensive car, as repairs will likely cost more.

• To make a request. If something happens that is covered by the policy, you can claim your insurance. You tell the insurance company what happened, they verify that it’s covered by your policy, and if the claim meets what’s protected, they pay you as agreed.

What is Insurance

What is underwriting?

Underwriting is how an insurer calculates how much to charge for each risk that each person who purchases an insurance policy covers and under what terms.

When preparing a policy, insurers calculate:

• How much they will agree to pay for a loss

• Under what circumstances will you make a payment?

• How much will the premium be?

Insurers think of several things when pricing a particular risk for insurance. For example, auto insurance premiums can vary based on the age, gender, and driving history of the primary drivers, as well as the location, type, and age of the car.

Each insurer has its own set of underwriting guidelines to help determine whether or not they accept the risk of a particular situation.

In some cases, an insurer may decide that it will not cover a particular risk, while other insurers may.

Underwriting is setting a premium low enough to attract a good number of buyers and high enough that there is enough money in the mutual funds to pay for any claims that may be made, as well as to make a profit for shareholders and the insurer.

The 3 most Imperative Insurance Types

Life Insurance


Life insurance protects your family financially in the event of premature death. This is how it works. You pay a regular premium to the insurance company for several years. In return, the insurance company pays an insured sum to your family if you die during the term of the contract.

There are different types of life insurance policies and in some of them, you get a lump sum if you live the term of the policy. For example, term insurance offers higher coverage for a lower premium amount compared to other life insurance policies. But no money is paid to the insured if he survives the term. Meanwhile, for policies such as endowment or cashback, the policyholder receives a lump sum after the end of the policy’s tenure. For such policies, the premium amounts are much higher compared to the coverage, compared to term insurance.

Health insurance

Health insurance is a way to ensure that you and your family can get the best health care without worrying about the cost.

In a health insurance policy, the cost of medical care for the insured person (s) is borne by the insurance company. In exchange for a regular premium that you pay, the insurance company covers all expenses related to an illness for which the insured person needs treatment. This includes hospitalization, daycare, post and pre-hospitalization, etc. And with the cashless setup, your bill is settled directly between the business and the hospital.

Liability Insurance

This insurance is used to insure property, cars, businesses, etc. When taking out liability insurance, such as automobile insurance, home insurance, commercial insurance, in the event of damage to the object or property insured during the term of the policy, the company of insurance undertakes to financially compensate the owner of the insured.

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