Insuring and ensuring are often used interchangeably, but insuring is specifically for preparing for something bad to happen, while ensuring is for making sure something happens or doesn’t happen. Assure is for guaranteeing something. Insurance policies guarantee payments in case of injury, illness, or death.
The difference between insuring and insuring is subtle, especially when you add the related word “insure” into the mix. Some people have strict rules about using these two words while other people use these words more or less interchangeably. The important thing to know is that, most of the time, using interchangeably is correct, except in very special circumstances, which we’ll get to in a moment. Thanks to these words sounding similar, if you accidentally mix them up in a spoken sentence, it’s unlikely anyone will call you on the difference between insuring and insuring.
Make sure, make sure, and make sure it all comes from the same Latin root which means “to make sure”. Assure entered the English language first, in the 14th century, followed by “ensure” and “insure” in the 1600s. All of these words have very similar meanings, suggesting a sense of making something certain or guaranteeing something.
The main difference between insuring and guaranteeing is that you insure something to be prepared in case something bad happens, whereas you talk about taking steps to ensure that something happens (or doesn’t happen). For example, you insure your home against water and fire damage, but put snacks in your car to make sure you have snacks if you get stuck in traffic. “Assure” is usually used in reference to putting someone’s mind at rest and guaranteeing that something will happen, as in “I assured Sally the memo would be done by 3:00.”
Since the difference between insuring and insuring is subtle, many people use these words interchangeably, unless we are talking about an insurance policy, an agreement with a company where the company agrees to pay a fixed amount if something goes wrong. . It insures homes, cars, and other properties, and you can also purchase life and health insurance to guarantee payments in the event of injury, illness, or death. In some nations, people refer to life insurance as life insurance, emphasizing the idea that a payout will be guaranteed at some point because everyone must eventually die.
Here’s an example of all three words used in one sentence: “Joe assured his wife that he would insure their home to make sure earthquake damage would be covered.” In this case the protagonist of our short story reassures someone, calming her mind so that she doesn’t have to worry by stating that something will definitely happen. She states that she will insure her property against earthquake damage, preparing for an adverse event, to ensure or be certain that if their home is damaged by an earthquake, they will be able to rebuild or repair it.
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