WTF

You and thousands of strangers put money in a shared pot. When something expensive happens, the pot pays. Insurance is shared risk.

The monthly or annual amount you pay to keep coverage active. Stop paying and your policy ends.

What you pay before insurance kicks in. Higher deductibles mean lower premiums; lower deductibles mean higher premiums.

A formal request for your insurer to pay after something goes wrong. It is reviewed, and it can be denied.

The legal contract stating exactly what insurance will and will not cover. Read the exclusions first.

The list of things your policy specifically will not cover, such as floods, earthquakes, or intentional damage.

The person or algorithm deciding whether to insure you and what price to charge based on your risk profile.

The maximum your insurer pays on a claim. Anything above it is your responsibility.

Coverage when you are legally responsible for hurting someone or damaging their property.

A fixed amount you pay every time you use healthcare, while insurance covers the rest.

After your deductible, the percentage of covered costs you pay. An 80/20 plan means you pay 20%.

The most you pay for covered healthcare in one year. After that, your plan pays 100%.

Coverage for your belongings and liability while renting. Your landlord’s policy covers the building, not your things.

Coverage for your house, its contents, and personal liability after fire, storms, vandalism, or theft.

Separate coverage for flooding, typically through the federal flood program, because standard home policies exclude it.

Life insurance for a set period. If you die during the term, your beneficiaries receive a payout.

Permanent life insurance that builds cash value but costs substantially more than term life.

The person named to receive your insurance payout. This designation usually overrides your will.

A bundle of liability, collision, and comprehensive coverage for you, your car, and people you might harm.

Protection when someone hits you without enough insurance. Your policy steps in when theirs does not.

Coverage for the difference between your car’s market value and the amount you still owe on the loan.

Agents sell for insurers. Brokers shop multiple insurers. Both are commonly paid commissions by carriers.

The person assessing your claim, coverage, and payout. They work for the insurer, not for you.

When your insurer pays your claim, then pursues the party actually responsible to recover its money.

Insurance for insurers. It lets carriers offload large risks and directly affects what they charge you.

A policy that pays automatically when a measured trigger—like wind speed or rainfall—hits a threshold.

A discount earned by avoiding claims. Small claims can sometimes cost more through lost discounts.

Actual cash value subtracts depreciation. Replacement cost pays what it takes to buy an equivalent new item.

A credit-based score used to predict claims and set insurance pricing in many states.

When insurance makes someone take more risk because they expect another party to absorb the loss.

When people most likely to need coverage are most likely to buy it, driving costs higher for the pool.

The mathematician who estimates risk and cost to price insurance products.

Coverage for breaches and digital attacks, including forensics, legal fees, ransomware, and business interruption.

A clause excluding losses caused by war—now legally complicated by state-sponsored cyberattacks.

Coverage protecting executives personally when they are sued over decisions made in their corporate roles.

Professional liability coverage when advice or services cause a client financial harm.

Extra liability coverage that starts after the limits on your auto or home policy are exhausted.

Coverage for lost revenue and operating expenses when a covered event temporarily closes your business.

Required employer coverage for workplace injuries, covering medical bills and lost wages.

In-network providers have insurer contracts and cost less. Out-of-network care can be dramatically more expensive.

A law allowing you to keep employer health coverage after leaving a job—if you pay the full premium.

Medicaid is income-based public health insurance; Medicare is generally age-based coverage for people 65 and older.

The government-run site for buying health insurance without an employer plan, often with income-based subsidies.

Auto insurance priced from data about how, when, and where you drive, captured by an app or device.

Insurance sold inside another product at checkout, such as travel protection or a phone warranty.

An insurer formed by a large company to insure its own risks instead of buying all coverage externally.

Admitted insurers follow state rules and guaranty protections; non-admitted insurers offer more flexible, higher-risk coverage.

The market for unusually risky or specialized exposures standard insurers will not cover.

A financial-strength rating for insurers. A stronger rating indicates a better ability to pay claims.

Prices rise, coverage gets harder to find, and insurers tighten underwriting. A soft market is the opposite.