Module 2: Types of Property-Casualty Insurance

There are two main sectors of insurance in many parts of the world including East Africa: property-casualty insurance and life-health insurance. Life-health insurance covers the financial consequences of death, injury, or sickness, while property-casualty insurance covers the financial consequences of damage to people’s and businesses’ property and/or their legal liability to others. Everyone who works in insurance (as well as those who purchase it) should understand the basic types of coverage. While life-health insurance is a large and important industry, this discussion focuses on the types of property-casualty policies that are available.

Property-casualty insurance can be broken down into two categories: personal (for individuals and families) and commercial (for businesses). Both people and businesses purchase coverage based on their loss exposures. Because situations and loss exposures vary, a variety of policies are available to meet customers’ needs.