The basic difference between Insure and Ensure is the involvement of a written agreement between the concerned parties.
Insure vs Ensure
The main difference between Insure and Ensure is that the meaning of insure is to make a contract with a company to provide compensation in case of loss of an asset, in exchange for a fee per month or another periodic settlement; whereas to ensure is to only make a verbal or mental resolution to perform an act, prevent an action to take place, achieve a goal or provide something to another.
Insuring an asset involves an insurance company whose purpose is to make it easy for a customer if a loss has occurred by paying for the damages.
Hence, this act of insurance is considered a necessity in financial matters to avoid major setbacks in case of an accident or a similar disaster.
Insurance provides financial security whereas ensuring to do something provides mental satisfaction that a certain responsibility or task will be taken care of in a certain way by a certain party.
Comparison Table Between Insure and Ensure (in Tabular Form)
| Parameter of Comparison | Insure | Ensure |
|---|---|---|
| Literal meaning | Protecting an asset in case of loss | Confirming an act, in favor of or against |
| Guarantee | Actual guarantee, in the form of a contract | Virtual guarantee, in the form of verbal promise or intention |
| Use | When providing contractual fiscal assurance | When providing metaphorical assurance |
| Liability | On insurance company | No one |
| Context | Used for financial matters | Used for general matters |
What is Insure?
Insure means to protect against any contingency in the future. In fiscal terms, it is the act of paying a company a certain amount of monies periodically over a certain period of time to make sure that compensation is made in case of an accident or loss of wealth, property, health or life.
Insure cannot be used as just an intent for protection, rather it is a contractual arrangement between two parties that seal the deal regarding the payment of repair in case of possible damage. For example,
‘John had his car insured as soon as purchasing.’
Here, ‘Insuring’ is the act of making a contract with an insurance company for the protection of his vehicle by John.
It means that if in case of an accident, his car is damaged or the driver or passengers are injured, the insurance company will compensate and provide payment for damage repair and hospital charges for the treatment of the people involved.
It is a legally bound association between the customer and the company.
What is Ensure?
Ensure means to make certain an act or deed. It is basically used as an intention of confirming that a certain action will be taken against or for accomplishing an objective.
It can be used also to assure protection against risk, however, it does not imply that compensation is provided for it in case of loss. It is just a resolution to make sure or not let something happen. For example,
‘John ensured all necessary registrations of his car as soon as purchasing.’
Here, ‘Ensuring’ is the act of making sure that all registrations for his vehicle are completed by John himself.
This act does not involve another party and bears no liability on anyone if the task was not actually completed.
It is John’s personal agenda to get all registrations settled for his car and with his own effort, he has taken all necessary steps to get it done. Once the task is over, it is not to be paid for by any one.
Main Differences Between Insure and Ensure
- Insure means to issue an insurance policy regarding the matter of an asset whereas ensure means to make an intention to accomplish a task.
- Both could imply protection against contingency however, insuring would also provide compensation for loss whereas ensuring will only be an effort to avoid such a loss.
- Ensure is used for all types of confirmations whether in favor of a task or against or for provision or protection, however, insure is limited for use in a financial arrangement between parties to confirm liability of a company in exchange for a periodic fee.
- Insuring something would bear legal consequences in case of events happening against the insurance, however, ensuring something is only a verbal promise and can only account for a person’s inability to achieve a certain goal.
- Insuring involves payment of fees and a legal obligation whereas ensuring is merely an act of resolve which does not require any fee or legal action post it.
Conclusion
In many contexts and over the years, the words Insure and Ensure are used interchangeably. It is also confused whether both are different words, either originate from the same root or are synonyms.
In some literatures, these are also considered the same only with variation in spellings. However, that is not correct. According to the widely acclaimed Merriam Webster Dictionary, Insure and Ensure are different words altogether and shall be used in specific contexts based on their relevance.
Insure relates to fiscal contractual assurances whereas ensure is a verbal or metaphorical assurance. Each cannot be used in replacement of the other.
A financial arrangement cannot mean ‘to ensure’ nor can one ‘insure’ to perform a certain task. Both can be precisely differentiated in a single example as follows;
‘John ensured to insure his car as soon as purchasing it.’
In this example, John has made sure the act of insuring his vehicle with an insurance company.
He made an intent, which is called ensuring, to achieve a goal which is the insurance of his vehicle with an insurance company. Insuring his car has now made the insurance company liable to his possible car damages and ensured the safety of John’s assets.
Both are separate acts and described by separate words. Also, in this example, it can be seen that ensure is used as a transitive verb whereas insure is used as an intransitive verb and are not interchangeable. Using either in exchange for each other will be grammatically wrong.
References
- https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1269&context=pers
- https://search.informit.com.au/fullText;dn=150247463860732;res=IELNZC