Insurance Coverage
The amount that is protected by insurance
What is Insurance Coverage?
Insurance coverage is the amount of risk, liability, or potential loss that is protected by insurance. It helps individuals recover from financial losses as a result of incidents, such as car accidents, damaged property, or unexpected health issues.
In order to be covered for their losses, individuals pay an insurance premium. The insurance coverage depends on the policyholder’s age, place of residence, employment benefits, number of children, and other lifestyle factors.
Having insurance coverage is important because it can provide individuals with financial security and help mitigate losses. It also offers a sense of safety for the policyholder and their family, knowing that financial losses can be protected. The most common types of insurance coverages include life, health, auto, and homeowners.
Life Insurance Coverage
Life insurance coverage provides beneficiaries with a sum of money upon the death of the insured individual. Beneficiaries can be anyone that the insured individual wants to provide the money to, such as a spouse, friend, children, or charity. The purpose of life insurance is to be able to financially assist family members after the death of a loved one, provide for funeral expenses, or pay for outstanding debt. There are various types of life insurance, not limited to but including:
- Term life insurance: This insurance has a fixed period of time for coverage, such as 10, 20, or 30 years. The coverage may also only last a certain number of years or until a certain age, such as 65 years. After that, the policyholder will not receive coverage anymore unless they purchase insurance again.
- Permanent life insurance: This gives coverage for the rest of your life and never expires. There are two types – whole life insurance and universal life insurance.
Health Insurance Coverage
Having health insurance coverage can help individuals avoid paying the full costs of medical expenses incurred when they require medical attention. Depending on how much they pay for insurance, it can protect the policyholder from having to pay for visits to the doctor, prescription medicines, and any other healthcare costs. There are several types of coverages for health insurance, which includes:
- Health and dental insurance: This is beneficial in covering healthcare costs that are not protected by government programs or employment benefits.
- Disability insurance: This helps to protect the individual if they suffer from an accident and become disabled. The insurance coverage can help minimize financial losses if they are unable to work due to a disability.
- Critical illness insurance: This insurance is beneficial to cover the costs of healthcare for individuals who are suffering from serious or life-threatening illnesses.
- Long-term care insurance: This can help cover the costs of long-term care facilities or home-care service providers if the individual is no longer capable of caring for themselves due to aging, illness, or an accident.
Auto Insurance Coverage
Auto insurance is used to protect individuals from financial losses associated with medical expenses and repair costs due to a car accident. Not only does having auto insurance coverage financially protect the driver, but it can also protect the passengers in the vehicle and other vehicles involved in the accident. Here are some examples of several types of auto insurance coverages:
- Bodily injury liability: If the policyholder injures another individual in a car accident, this insurance helps cover medical costs for the injured individual.
- Property damage liability: This insurance covers the costs associated with repairing other vehicles or other property that the policyholder damaged.
- Collision coverage: This insurance covers the costs of repairing damages to the owner’s own vehicle or property.
- Comprehensive coverage: This insurance protects the policyholder in the case of loss, damage, or theft of their car. It can be due to an incident other than a car accident, such as damage from extreme weather or damage from a falling object.
Homeowner’s Insurance Coverage
Homeowner’s insurance protects you from financial losses related to your home. The coverage can help you with expenses associated with repairs, destruction, maintenance, or replacing damaged items inside your home. Depending on the type of coverage, it can also cover losses such as clothing, furniture, electronic appliances, and other personal belongings. Homeowners insurance coverage can financially protect you in situations such as:
- Fires
- Weather-related destruction such as wind, hurricane, lightning
- Theft and vandalism
Additional Resources
CFI is the official provider of the Commercial Banking & Credit Analyst (CBCA)® certification program. CFI also offers a variety of courses and related readings for you to continue learning about topics in finance:
