Meaning & use
insurable
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparablebusiness
Able to be covered by an insurance policy because the risk or item meets the insurer's requirements.
Grammar: Usually used after 'be' or before a noun: the house is insurable; an insurable risk.
Patterns
- be insurable
- an insurable risk
Most homes in the area are insurable, but flood cover costs extra.
The company decided that the old warehouse was no longer insurable.
Fire is an insurable risk for almost every business.
adjectivebefore a nounlegalbusiness
Having a real financial stake in something, so that a loss would harm you, as required to take out a policy on it.
Grammar: Appears mainly in the fixed phrase 'insurable interest'.
Patterns
- insurable interest in something
You cannot buy a policy on a stranger's car because you have no insurable interest in it.
The owner of the shop has an insurable interest in its stock.
A lender usually has an insurable interest in the property it finances.
Common combinations
- insurable interest
- The court asked whether she had an insurable interest in the building.
- insurable risk
- Theft is an insurable risk for most households.
- insurable value
- The insurable value of the painting was set by an expert.
- remain insurable
- Drivers with many accidents may not remain insurable.
- deemed insurable
- The applicant was deemed insurable after a medical exam.
Synonyms and how they differ
- coverable
- Coverable is rare and sounds odd, whereas insurable is the standard word for what a policy can protect.
- eligible for cover
- This phrase is plainer and describes meeting the requirements, while insurable is a single technical word.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: insurable or ensure? insurable or assure?
insurable vs ensure
Ensure means to make certain that something happens, while insure means to cover with an insurance policy.
insurable vs assure
Assure means to tell someone confidently that something is true; it has nothing to do with buying a policy.
Practice
The insurer refused cover because the building was no longer ___ after the fire.
Choose one answer.
'Insurable' means able to be covered by insurance. 'Ensurable' is not a standard word, and 'insuring' is a verb form that does not fit the sentence.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “insurable”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.