Some folks say “to-MAY-to” and some folks say “to-MAH-to”, or “po-TAY-to” and “po-TAH-to” but it is really not an issue how a term is pronounced; what matters is the concept of a term. If the speakers of a certain dialect did not concur as to the meaning of the terms in their vocabulary then all of us would still be living in prehistoric times. Thankfully, the human species no longer communicates in a sequence of grunts but terminology is still a complicated matter where semantics is concerned. This is largely on account of synonyms and other grammatical conditions that cause uncertainty and semantic misconception amid the speakers of a lingo. All dialects have these and a person can labour with a misapprehension, sometimes for many years, until they find out the actual meaning of a term.

Consider the phrases, “life insurance” and “life assurance”, for instance. Most adults know about life insurance, especially those with dependants, as they will most likely have had to take out a life cover policy at some stage or another. Yet, when it comes to life assurance, the meaning of the phrase isn’t quite as clear. An individual may presume that both phrases are related to life coverage and they would be correct but there is a slight difference between the two phrases. Occasionally a habit or practice, such as obtaining life insurance once you become a mum or dad is thinking inherited from our own parents and we don’t query what we are doing since we feel that what worked for them will work equally well for us. Many of us comprehend the basic context of what we are undertaking but not the details, and whilst our mom and dad might have been using sound practices, our life scenarios may be somewhat different and the same type of coverage might not be appropriate for us. It may be that life assurance is a better path for us to follow but we don’t follow that path because we don’t truly understand what it is. Therefore, not questioning the meaning of terms can lead to us to take out coverage which may not be the most suitable for us.

Indeed, both kinds of coverage involve insuring a person’s life but there’s a fundamental variance between the two. Life assurance comes with an investment portion, whereas life insurance does not. Naturally, there’s a cash payout in both cases if the policy holder dies before the policy comes to an end however, if they don’t die, and the coverage runs out, then the holder of a life assurance plan will receive money from the investment portion of the plan whereas the holder of life insurance will not.

The moral of this tale is not to assume you comprehend the meaning of a term or expression simply because you comprehend the context in which it is being utilized. In affairs involving insurance as with any other kind of scheme or agreement it is advisable to get clarification on every term that you’re not sure of the meaning of. Getting clarification before you sign on the dotted line will ensure that you or your surviving family members will not have any unpleasant surprises further down the line.

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