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As an insurance broker I try to know the full meaning of every word connected with my business. Does it pay? Listen to this story. I was talking over the telephone to a man whom I had never seen about insurance. He asked me the difference be- tween insurance and assurance. This is what I told him: "Insurance is the act of insuring, whereby one party under- takes to indemnify or guarantee another against loss by a contingent event. A fire-insurance policy, for example, is based on an event that may not occur. In fact, a fire insur- ance policy may be in force forever and never be a claim. "Assurance is the act of assuring, whereby one party un- dertakes to indemnify or guarantee another against loss of life, which is based not on a contingent event, but on an event that is certain. All 'life insurance' policies are really life assurance' policies. If kept in force long enough, they become a claim, either as an endowment when the proceeds are paid to the assured in cash, or as a death claim when the proceeds are paid to a beneficiary. Therefore, all fire policies are 'insurance' that depend on a contingency for fulfillment, and all life policies are 'assurance,' which is predicated on a certainty." The man was so well pleased with this simple explanation that the commission for the business he gave me amounted to over $1000. One hundred words—one thousand dollars. Does it pay to know your words? A mathematician would be lost without digits. A musician would be in a quandary without notes. A salesman would not reap any sales without words. Therefore, the moral is, in- crease your word power. WATCH YOUR WORDS 139 |
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