What it does
Insurance papers are full of words that sound alike: deductible, excess, copay, coinsurance, sub-limit. This glossary explains about 40 of them in one or two plain sentences, with a tiny number example, so you can see what each one does to a real bill.
Cards carry a badge where a word means something different in India, Canada, the US or the UK. Use it before you read a policy, and keep it open beside the wording. To test a promise in a real policy, try policy fine-print finder; to decide if cover is worth its price, try should I insure this?.
How to use it
- Type a word in the search box. The cards filter as you type.
- Pick a Country to show words that matter there, and a Type of cover (health, dental, car, life, home, general).
- Read the example on each card. All numbers are made-up examples.
What each filter does
- Country: “All” shows everything. A country shows general words plus the ones special to it.
- Type of cover: keeps only the words used in that kind of policy.
- Search: matches the word, its short name and the meaning.
Worked example
A health plan has a deductible of 1,000 and a claim of 5,000. You pay the first 1,000 and the plan pays 4,000. If the plan also has 20% coinsurance, you pay 20% of the remaining 4,000 (800), so you pay 1,800 in all.
FAQs
Is this the wording of my policy? No. Your policy document decides what is covered. This only explains common words.
Why do countries differ? Rules and names differ. For example, a “deductible” in the US is often called an “excess” in the UK.
Are these recommendations? No. No insurer or product is named, and nothing here is advice.
Where the numbers come from
- Plain-language definitions written by fibub from general insurance practice; they do not copy any insurer's wording. Country notes (India moratorium period, IDV, no-claim bonus, Canadian provincial plans, US HSA/HDHP, UK third-party rules) checked 2026-11-10: check the official source, such as the regulator's site, for the current rules.
Standard scientific values, such as constants, atomic weights and melting points, are facts found in every textbook; we name where ours were checked. If you are an author or publisher and want a value, a credit or a table changed or removed, tell us and we will act quickly.
Last updated 2026-11-10.