Superquote Glossary: Co-Insurance

Coinsurance relates mainly to the insurance of property.  It is a clause which requires an insured person to have cover for a specified percentage of a properties value in order to receive a full payment on any loss to the property. 

In medical insurance, the term generally relates to a percentage of a claim which is above the excess paid by a policyholder.  For example, if a 30% coinsurance clause was in place and a claim occured, the insured would pay the excess plus 30% of the total loss.  Often this clause works to a ceiling and after that the insurer picks up the full amount of any additional claim.