what is Insurance?

What is insurance?
Put simply, insurance is a policy designed to make sure that you are no worse off after an accident or disaster (such as a flood or burglary) than you were beforehand.
There are dozens of different types of insurance, from insurance that you have to take out by law (such as car insurance), to policies that it's a good idea to have (such as contents insurance) to those that are 'nice to have' rather than necessities.  Source

Insurance helps protect you from financial loss when things go wrong. For example:
• your mobile phone could fall out of your pocket and break while you’re travelling
(and you need a new one)
• you might be injured in a car accident (and you have to pay for treatment
and the cost of repairs to your car).
While having insurance can give you peace of mind, it’s not like a savings account,
where any money you pay in belongs to you. What you can claim back from the
insurance company depends on what’s covered in your insurance policy.
Source