Insurance
Etymology
From Old French "asseurer" (to make sure), from Latin ad "to" + "securus" (free from care) — se "without" + cura "care". To insure is to make someone free from care about a future loss. The word literally promises the removal of worry, not the removal of risk.
noun · /in-SHOOR-uhns/
An arrangement in which you pay a company regularly so it will cover specified large costs if certain events occur.
What it names
The mechanism for trading a small, predictable loss (the premium) to avoid a rare, catastrophic one — pooling risk across many people.
Example
Renters insurance cost him a few dollars a month but replaced everything after the fire.
Related idea
Distinguish indemnity, the principle underneath most insurance: it aims to restore you to where you were before the loss, not to leave you better off — which is why a claim pays the item’s depreciated value, not a brand-new replacement, unless the policy says otherwise.