These two verbs sound almost the same and look alike, but they have different jobs.
- Ensure means to make sure that something happens or is true.
- Insure means to protect against financial loss by paying for a policy.
Ensure: make sure
To ensure something is to make certain it happens.
Please lock the door to ensure that nobody gets in.
Check the map to ensure you are going the right way.
Insure: protect with a policy
To insure something is to buy a policy that pays out if something goes wrong, usually in money terms.
We insured our bikes against theft.
Make sure your phone is insured before you take it on holiday.
Easy way to tell them apart
Ask yourself: Am I making sure, or am I paying for protection?
- Making sure something happens? Use ensure.
- Buying a policy that pays out if something breaks or is lost? Use insure.
💡 The OddLingo Trick
Insurance is about money, and money only arrives if something goes wrong. Ensure is about the outcome you want: make it happen, and nothing needs to go wrong at all.
⚠️ Common mistakes
Making sure something happens? Ensure is the safe choice.
❌ Please insure the door is locked. (you may see this in American English, but ensure is clearer)
✅ Please ensure the door is locked.
Buying a policy? Use insure.
❌ We ensured our car last year.
✅ We insured our car last year.
Useful phrases
- ensure that + a sentence: Please ensure that your name is on the form.
- insure against + a risk: You can insure your holiday against cancellation.
- be insured for + an amount: The camera is insured for five hundred pounds.
📌 Good to know
In American English, insure is sometimes used to mean ensure, and insure is preferred for insurance. The safe choice everywhere is ensure for making sure and insure for a policy.