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Insurance/assurance??

Posted by Barney on September 01, 2000

In Reply to: Insurance/assurance?? posted by ESC on August 31, 2000

: : : I need help (please) ASAP with an article I'm writing. Do the British still use the word "assurance" to refer to what we in the U.S. call "insurance." According to Stuart Berg Flexner (writing in 1976): "The word insurance dates back to 1649 in America (the British prefer the term assurance)." I need to know if this is still the case.

: : Occasionally. Mostly "assurance" is used in the Shakespearean sense of "to make assurance doubly sure" (Macbeth). Some old Insurance companies still retain "Assurance" in their title but, for everyday use "insurance" is used by the vast majority of people exept as above - to assure someone.
: : Hope this helps.

: Thank you!! That helps me a great deal.

The OED offers these words of wisdom: In the context of life insurance, a technical distinction is made between assurance and insurance. Assurance is used of policies under whose terms a payment is guaranteed, either after a fixed term or on the death of the insured person; insurance is the general term, and is used in particular of policies under whose terms a payment would be made only in certain circumstances (e.g. accident or death within a limited period)."

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