Meaning & use
premiums
Last updated
“premiums” is a form of “premium”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nounusually pluralfinance
Regular payments you make to an insurance company so that you are covered against loss, damage or illness.
Grammar: Often used with pay or rise: premiums rose last year; a single payment is one premium.
Patterns
- pay premiums on something
- premiums for something
Our car insurance premiums go up every time we make a claim.
She pays her health premiums by direct debit on the first of each month.
Young drivers often face very high premiums.
nounusually pluralbusiness
Extra amounts of money paid on top of the normal price or wage, usually because something is rare, special or risky.
Grammar: Often followed by on: premiums on rare stamps.
Patterns
- premiums on something
- pay premiums for something
Collectors pay premiums for first editions in good condition.
Workers on night shifts sometimes receive premiums on top of their basic pay.
Shares were sold at premiums well above their original price.
Word forms
| singular | premium |
|---|
Common combinations
- pay premiums
- He has paid premiums on the policy for twenty years.
- insurance premiums
- Insurance premiums in flood zones are rising fast.
- monthly premiums
- The monthly premiums are lower if you accept a higher excess.
- premiums rise
- Premiums rise sharply once you turn seventy.
- cut premiums
- The company promised to cut premiums for safe drivers.
Synonyms and how they differ
- payments
- Payments is a general word for any money handed over, whereas premiums specifically means insurance contributions or extra charges.
- contributions
- Contributions suggests money paid into a pension or shared fund, while premiums are paid to an insurer for cover.
- surcharges
- Surcharges are extra fees added to a price, but they never mean insurance payments the way premiums can.
Opposites
Word family
- premium noun
- one such payment or an extra charge
- premium adjective
- of high quality or price
- underwrite verb
- to accept the risk in an insurance contract
- insurer noun
- the company that receives premiums
Commonly confused: premiums or premises?
premiums vs premises
Premises means a building and its land, and it sounds similar, but it has nothing to do with insurance payments.
Practice
Our home insurance ___ increased by ten percent this year.
Choose one answer.
Premiums are the regular payments made for insurance. Premises is a tempting look-alike but means buildings and land.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “premiums”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.