34 Examples of Insurance

John Spacey, July 07, 2021

Insurance is a contract that transfers risk from one party to another. As a business, insurance collects premiums and invests these funds until a claim is made. The following are common types of insurance.

Fire Insurance

Insures against fire damage to structures and/or personal belongings.

Homeowners Insurance

Insures against 3rd party liability, theft and damage to a home such as fire. Coverage often doesn't include all risks to a home such as floods and earthquakes.

Flood Insurance

As floods can impact a large number of homes this is a difficult thing to insure as billions in claims can occur from a single event. As such, flood insurance is often sold separately from homeowner insurance.

Earthquake Insurance

Covers damage to property due to an earthquake. As with flood insurance, this may be excluded from standard homeowner's insurance. Often has a cap.

Windstorm Insurance

Covers damage from hurricanes that may be excluded from homeowners insurance.

Life Insurance

Insurance that pays out to a beneficiary when you die. Payment can also be triggered by terminal illness or critical illness. Often has exclusions such as war.

Term Life Insurance

Life insurance that expires such that you will need new insurance, typically at a much more expensive rate, when you are older.

Permanent Life Insurance

Life insurance that never expires such that you can carry it into old age. Payments are typically fixed and policies don't expire unless you let them lapse. Also known as whole life or universal life insurance.

Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance

Life insurance that only pays out if the cause of death is an accident. In many cases, this is included in other types of insurance such as life insurance where there is a bigger benefit for accidental death.

Burial Insurance

A limited type of life insurance that pays a relatively modest amount intended to cover funeral expenses.

Unemployment Insurance

Mandatory government insurance that provides some income if you become unemployed. Often doesn't cover quitting or refusal to work without good reason.

Annuity

An annuity is a financial product that pays you a fixed amount each month or year that you live. This is viewed as a type of insurance as it provides income stability thus reducing risk. An annuity can also be viewed as a type of investment that pays off if you live a long time.

Liability Insurance

Insurance for legal claims against the insured. Often included in some limited way in other insurance. For example, home owners insurance that includes liability related to your property.

Casualty Insurance

A broad term for liability insurance related to injury or damage to the property of others. This isn't usually sold separately but is included in things like car insurance and homeowner insurance.

Professional Liability Insurance

Insures against legal claims related to your work. These products are specialized for a profession such as medical malpractice insurance.

Fidelity Bond

Insures employers against dishonest acts by employees.

Health Insurance

Insurance that covers medical expenses. It is common for nations to provide no cost or low cost health insurance to all residents or some subset of residents such as seniors and the disabled.

Supplementary Health Insurance

Supplementary health insurance pays a lump sum if you get sick. This may pay different amounts for different diseases and/or may include a lump sum for each day you spend in hospital. This is very common in nations with national health insurance that doesn't cover 100% of costs.

Extended Health Plans

In countries where healthcare is essentially free such that its funded with taxation, people may still purchase insurance known as extended health plans that cover things like prescription medications, dental care, physiotherapy, ambulance services and prescription eyeglasses.

Disability Insurance

Insures income against disability that diminishes your capacity to earn a living.

Workers Compensation

A program of wage replacement and medical benefits that can be taken in lieu of a worker's right to sue their employer for a workplace injury.

Vehicle Insurance

Vehicle insurance primarily insures against third party liability for traffic accidents. This is typically mandatory, including minimum amounts that must be covered. Vehicle insurance may also insure your vehicle against damage or theft.

Gap Insurance

Covers the total value of a vehicle in the case of a write off. Commonly offered by financing companies to customers leasing vehicles whereby the gap is between the value of the vehicle and the percentage of the vehicle actually owned by the lessee.

Marine Insurance

Various insurance related to boats and ships and their cargo.

Aviation Insurance

Coverage for an aircraft you own including liability to passengers.

Shipping Insurance

Insurance on the loss of goods in transit.

Flight Insurance

Life insurance that only covers an incident on a flight. This is a remote possibility. Often offered with premium credit cards whereby coverage is activated by booking the flight with the card.

Warranty

A guarantee regarding the quality of a product or service.

Extended Warranties & Service Contracts

An upgraded warranty that has some cost. Often a dubious value. For example, an extended warranty on a $7 product such that the risk being insured is absurdly small. These are typically extremely profitable for the seller such that they may be aggressively marketed.

Renters Insurance

Covers liability insurance and losses to the tenants personal property from fire, theft and other perils. May also cover expenses if your building becomes uninhabitable.

Landlord Insurance

Covers a landlord's liability to tenants. Similar to homeowners insurance.

Crop Insurance

Insures against various risks to crops such as disasters and weather. In some cases, these even protect against changes in market price. Crop insurance is typically funded by a government and represents a subsidy to agricultural companies or farmers.

Social Insurance

A public insurance program that may cover risks to income such as sickness, disability, old age and unemployment. These are often partially or completely funded by mandatory employer and employee contributions.

Social Programs

Government services that resemble public funded insurance benefits in areas such as health and medical care, university education, housing, basic income, child benefits, pensions, disability pensions and workers compensation.