policyholder

Word family

• policy
  nounB1
• insure
  verbB2
• insurance
  nounB1
• insured
  adjectiveB2
• insurer
  nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Policyholder, insured, beneficiary, and claimant are all insurance roles that learners often confuse. The policyholder owns the insurance contract and pays the premiums — this is the person who bought the policy. The insured is the person whose life, health, or property is covered; in many cases the policyholder and the insured are the same, but a parent can be the policyholder of a life insurance policy that covers their child. The beneficiary is the person who receives the insurance payout when a claim is paid — often a family member named in the policy. The claimant is anyone who files a claim for compensation, whether or not they own the policy. For example: 'Marta is the policyholder of her car insurance, Marta and her husband are both insured drivers, and if the car is stolen, Marta becomes the claimant who asks the insurer for the repair money.'

Common collocations

Etymology

The word 'policyholder' is a compound formed from 'policy' and 'holder'. The insurance sense of 'policy' comes from French 'police' (meaning 'contract' or 'certificate'), which traces back through Latin to Greek 'apodeixis' ('proof' or 'demonstration'). 'Holder' comes from Old English 'healdan' ('to hold, keep, possess'). The combined term first appeared in the 19th century as the insurance industry grew and a specific word was needed for the person who owned the policy document.