While writing any context it is a stumble to choose the correct word when it comes to homophones because they sound the same but are never interchangeable. If we select an incorrect word, it is impossible to convey the message we want. Ensure and insure duo also confuses native speakers. English is a vast language that has thousands of words with similar meanings or words that look identical but have different meanings. Ensure and insure are one of them. The trouble starts while choosing them for sentences as verbs. Therefore, to avoid mix-ups of these words we will separately discuss ensure meaning as well as insure. We are sure this discussion makes differentiation easier and helps you remember their spellings. Also, this understanding will help you in communication.

Definition of Insure and Ensure

Here definition means how to use these words properly and a better understanding difference between ensures and insure. If we say insure and ensure meanings are the same that is “to make sure anything” but used in sentences differently, then it’s not wrong.

Insure: The meaning of insure is “taking out an insurance policy.” It’s a guarantee of a specific thing to happen. Mostly used in insurance policies to guarantee, issue, or provide harmless or loss-free service.  Insure is like giving surety, protection against financial loss.

Examples:

• Usually, jewelry insurance is better against theft, fire, and loss.
• A feeding tube may be inserted through the nose and into the stomach to insure the infant receives sufficient nutrition.
• It’s better to insure your laptop if your work relies on it.
• You should have health insurance so you don’t end up with expensive treatment bills.

Ensure: Meaning if ensure is “making sure”. It is like giving a guarantee or possibility of a certain thing. Generally, ensure is employed in the sentences to give the essence of “certain, safe, or make sure” and commonly in accountability or control.

Examples:

• Wash regularly to ensure personal hygiene.
• This repair only ensure that the machine will work until the new parts arrive.
• Football team worked much hard to ensure their position in the next tournament.
• You must ensure that you have unplugged the appliances.

Insure pronounce as In-sure and Ensure as An-sure.

Insure Vs Ensure

In a broad sense from the above definitions, insure and ensure meaning is “to make sure something”. However, how each word is employed in a phrase varied significantly. For your ease, we have found a thumb rule that helps you to the correct word in sentences. When a sentence is giving the guarantee of anything, the choice is to ensure, and when it comes to the insurance point of view go for insure.

Her hard work ensures success

They insured their car.

Participles: Insuring and ensuring are the insure and ensures participle respectively. The same rule for “taking out any insurance” use insuring and for “making sure or giving guarantee” use ensuring.

Sentence Examples

Let’s discuss the examples briefly and how these words impact sentences.

Ensure examples:

• The brother helped his sister to get into the room when the kidnappers broke into the house, then double-locked it to ensure the kidnappers could not enter. After that, he also called 911 to alert the police.

This line describes how a boy assisted himself, his younger sister, and during an abduction attempt. To ensure their safety, he barricaded himself and his sister inside a room and quickly tried to call the police. Ensure is showing to make sure they are safe.

• To ensure she aced the upcoming test, Ana studied diligently.

In the sentences, Ana is ensuring (guaranteeing) to pass her exam with flying colors by reading diligently. For this, she is working hard to make it possible.

• Before departing, ensure to disconnect all of your electrical equipment at home.

Ensure in this sentence is used to make an action that makes sure appliances are unplugged.

Insure examples:

• A contract for life insurance is made between an employee and an insurer. When the employee passes away, the insurer is required to pay a set quantity of money to the beneficiaries, which is paid by the policyholder in his lifetime.

This clause explains how insurance functions. In this example contract is signed between a policyholder and an insurer. The insurer is required to pay a specific amount of money to the policyholder’s beneficiaries after the policyholder passes away. In reality, that payments totaled the amount paid by the policyholder until he is alive.

• You’ve brought a valuable new car; therefore, you should probably have it insured, Abraham advised his friend.

The sentence shows a friend advising his friend who bought a new car should have his insurance early to avoid any damage expense.

• We must insure our home against hurricanes(storms) and other natural calamities because we live near the coast.

This example is showing people/someone who has a house near a coastal area thinking about insurance for their house to avoid any calamity disaster expenses.

Hope these explanations help you to clear the mix-up of these two words. It’s a nifty way to use them correctly.

Quick Exercise

To check whether you have a full understanding of insure and ensure meaning.

• His reputation was sufficient to ———- that he is worthy to be welcomed.
• You ——- success.
• It’s a good idea to ——— your unit from burglary and natural calamities even if you rent.
• It’s necessary ——— your property against fire, theft, and third-party harm.
• To ——— that the landlord would not rent the apartment to another person, they put down a deposit on it.

Ans: (ensure, ensure, insure, insure, ensure)