What is a "policy"?

What is a "policy"?

Elliot Matloff (President and Broker, The Matloff Company) gives expert video advice on: What is an "underwriter"?; What is "coverage"? and more...

A policy is the written contract between you and the insurance company. It's all the pages of the policy, the provisions, that say “this is what we're going to do in exchange for the premiums that you're paying us every year.” A policy is usually 2 or 3 pages. It sometimes has everything you've told the agent as your promise. As an example, if you buy a life insurance policy and you tell the agent that you have perfect health, but if later on they find out that you have a lot of serious health history that you neglected to put down on the application, that can affect whether you get paid on your claim. The policy is your contract--the written contract--plus all the promises of the insurance company.