Finance · Understanding financial basics
How insurance works: home, car, life and income cover
How insurance works, in six short lessons: premiums, excesses and exclusions, health cover in the US, Australia and the UK, home, contents and car cover, life and income cover, comparing policies and claims, and complaints and help. No insurers or products are named or recommended.
About this course
home, car, life and income cover.
Starter · About 1 hour of learning · 6 lessons · 13 quick checks · 1 download
Who it's for
Adults in Australia, the UK, the US and elsewhere who want to understand how insurance works before reviewing their own cover.
How it works
6 guided lessons in your browser, with worked examples, exercises and a quick check after each lesson. Progress is saved in this browser only, and you can restart at any time.
Sources we rely on
41 published sources, mostly regulators and official bodies, listed below so you can check the original guidance yourself.
By the end you can
- Explain premiums, excesses or deductibles and exclusions, and weigh whether a risk is worth insuring
- Describe how public and private health cover fit together in the US, Australia and the UK
- Tell home, contents, renters and car cover apart and check a sum insured for underinsurance
- Explain life and income cover and estimate your own income gap
- Compare policies on more than price, make a claim, and name the official complaints services
Downloads
- Insurance review checklist .xlsxList the cover you have, compare two policies feature by feature, check a sum insured for underinsurance, work out an excess trade-off, a health bill under a deductible and coinsurance, and your income gap.
Rules by country
Learning time
About 1 hour of learning. May count towards your CPD or professional development; check your professional body's rules. Estimated from reading time, exercises, quick checks and downloads.
Sources
Check the originals.
Drafted with AI assistance and run through automated quality and source checks. How these courses are made. Spotted an error or out-of-date rule? Send a correction.
General information only, not financial advice. We don't recommend financial products.
- How insurance works · Moneysmart (ASIC, Australia)
- Insurance · Moneysmart (ASIC, Australia)
- Home underinsurance · Moneysmart (ASIC, Australia)
- Contents insurance · Moneysmart (ASIC, Australia)
- Choosing car insurance · Moneysmart (ASIC, Australia)
- How life insurance works · Moneysmart (ASIC, Australia)
- Income protection insurance · Moneysmart (ASIC, Australia)
- Insurance through super · Moneysmart (ASIC, Australia)
- Health insurance · Moneysmart (ASIC, Australia)
- How to make a home insurance claim · Moneysmart (ASIC, Australia)
- Medicare · Services Australia (Australian Government)
- Get started with Medicare · Medicare.gov (US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
- Parts of Medicare · Medicare.gov (US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
- How does Medicare work? · Medicare.gov (US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
- Medicare costs · Medicare.gov (US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
- Get Medigap basics · Medicare.gov (US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
- Contact Medicare · Medicare.gov (US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
- Glossary: deductible · HealthCare.gov (US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
- Glossary: premium · HealthCare.gov (US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
- Glossary: coinsurance · HealthCare.gov (US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
- Glossary: out-of-pocket maximum/limit · HealthCare.gov (US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
- Life insurance · National Association of Insurance Commissioners (US state insurance regulators)
- Auto insurance · National Association of Insurance Commissioners (US state insurance regulators)
- State insurance departments · National Association of Insurance Commissioners (US state insurance regulators)
- Disability benefits · Social Security Administration (US)
- The NHS Constitution for England · GOV.UK (Department of Health and Social Care)
- Vehicle insurance · GOV.UK
- Statutory Sick Pay · GOV.UK
- Insurance complaints · Financial Ombudsman Service (UK)
- Insurance protection · Financial Services Compensation Scheme (UK)
- What is life insurance? · MoneyHelper (UK, Money and Pensions Service)
- What is income protection insurance? · MoneyHelper (UK, Money and Pensions Service)
- Financial advisers register · Moneysmart (ASIC, Australia)
- TPB Register: check if your tax or BAS agent is registered · Tax Practitioners Board (Australia)
- National Debt Helpline · National Debt Helpline (Australia)
- Australian Financial Complaints Authority · AFCA (Australia)
- How to check a firm or individual is authorised · Financial Conduct Authority (UK)
- Get free debt advice · GOV.UK
- Working with an investment professional · Investor.gov (US Securities and Exchange Commission)
- Choosing a tax professional · Internal Revenue Service (US)
- What is credit counseling? · Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (US)
Publisher
Who publishes this course.
Published by trainyourself.org, a trading name of Combine TRS Pty Ltd (ABN 42 112 983 678), Brisbane, Australia.
How it's made: drafted with AI assistance from published regulator, government and official money guidance, then run through automated quality checks against our course depth standard and automated source checks that match each rule to its official source, listed above. The course guide is an AI presenter and is labelled as one. Read how these courses are made.
Last updated:
General information only, not financial, credit, tax or legal advice. Spotted an error or an out-of-date rule? Send us a correction.
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