This week we are going to dedicate our article to Insurance as a crucial part of our everyday's lives. You can have two-fold view over the article. On one hand, you can take the content as a common customer and learn a lot of useful words related to insurance. On the other hand, if you work as an insurance broker or in insurance company, you can enrich your professional vocabulary and improve understanding of English written text about insurance.
Insurance is designed to provide a sum of money to compensate for any damage suffered as the result of a risk that has been insured against in a specific insurance contract, such as fire, accident, theft, loss, damage, injury or death. Thousands of people pay premiums to insurance companies, which use the money to compensate people who suffer loss or damage, etc. Some people also use insurance policies as a way of saving. Life assurance policies, for example, usually pay a certain sum on a specific date -- for example, when a person stops working at the age of 60 or 65 or whenever, or earlier if the person dies.
Insurance companies, like pension funds, are large institutional investors that place great amounts of money in various securities: shares, bonds, etc.
Insurance companies generally employ their own agents who sell insurance to customers, but there are also insurance brokers who work with several companies, selling insurance in return for a percentage of the premium (also called commission).
If a particular insurance company considers that the risk it has underwritten (assumed responsibility for) is too big, it might share the business with other companies, by way of reinsurance. Lloyds of London, for example, underwrites a great many risks which are spread among lots of insurance companies. In other words, an insurance company can even insure itself against any risk.
Zdroj: Ian MacKenzie. Financial English. Thomson Heinle: 2002.
Types of insurance
Any risk can be potentially insured. Specific kinds of risk that may give rise to claims are known as "perils". An insurance policy (a written statement of a contract of insurance) will explain in detail which perils are covered by the policy and which are not. A single policy may cover risks in one or more of the categories. For example, car insurance would typically cover both property risk (covering the risk of theft or damage to the car) and liability risk (covering legal claims from causing an accident). A homeowner's insurance policy typically includes property insurance covering damage to the home and the owner's belongings, liability insurance covering certain legal claims against the owner, and even a small amount of coverage for medical expenses of guests who are injured on the owner's property.
Car insurance
Car insurance (or vehicle insurance) protects you against financial loss if you have an accident. It is a contract between you and the insurance company. You agree to pay the premium and the insurance company agrees to pay your losses.
Home insurance
Home insurance provides compensation for damage or destruction of a home from disasters. In some geographical areas, the standard insurances do not include certain types of disasters, such as flood and earthquakes that require additional coverage. The policy may include inventory, or this can be insured in a separate policy, especially for people who rent houses. In some countries, insurers offer a package which may include liability and legal responsibility for injuries and property damage caused by members of the household, including pets.
Health insurance
Health insurance policies usually cover the cost of medical treatments. Dental insurance, like medical insurance, is coverage for individuals to protect them against dental costs. In the U.S., dental insurance is often part of an employer's benefits package, along with health insurance.
Accident, Sickness and Unemployment Insurance
- disability insurance policies provide financial support in the event the policyholder is unable to work because of disabling illness or injury, it provides monthly support to help pay such obligations as mortgages and credit cards.
- disability overhead insurance allows business owners to cover the overhead expenses of their business while they are unable to work
- total permanent disability insurance provides benefits when a person is permanently disabled and can no longer work in their profession, often taken as an addition to life insurance
- workers' compensation insurance replaces all or part of a worker's wages lost and accompanying medical expenses because of a job-related injury
Property insurance
Property insurance provides protection against risks to property, such as fire, theft or weather damage. This includes specialized forms of insurance such as fire insurance, flood insurance, earthquake insurance, home insurance, inland marine insurance or boiler insurance.
So whether you work in insurance business or any other field, we hope this information will help you not to get lost in case you want to insure yourself or your own business in English speaking environment.
Exercise 1: decide which insurance [car, home, health, accident, sickness, unemployment, property] is appropriate to be used in these cases.