Reviewed by Daniel Mirkovic
Updated July 29, 2024 | Published August 17, 2020
Noun
pol·i·cy·hold·er | ˈpä-lə-sē-ˌhōl-dər
Definition: The owner of an insurance policy.
The agent asked to speak directly to the policyholder.
The important points
Policyholder is another way of saying “policy owner.” If you buy an insurance policy in your own name to insure your own stuff, you’re the holder of that policy: the policyholder.
Policyholder is the same as named insured.
You can check out our full definition of named insured for more in-depth information, but here’s the short version:
The policyholder is the person who bought the insurance policy, and they get all the benefits described within that policy. They’re allowed to make changes to the policy or cancel it. The policyholder also has the option of adding more people to the policy, after which those people would also receive insurance coverage.
For home and car insurance, the policyholder is the owner of the policy, also called the named insured. They get all the benefits the policy offers. In the case of home insurance, it means they own the home that’s being insured (or their name is on the rental agreement, in the case of tenant insurance).
An insured, on the other hand, is anyone who has coverage under the policy:
Example
Samantha buys a home insurance policy for her new house. She owns the house and bought the insurance policy, making her the policyholder, as well as an insured. The language of her insurance contract also extends coverage to her spouse and dependents, so her partner and her daughter are both insureds as well. They are not, however, policyholders; their names don’t appear on the insurance contract.
Looking for another insurance definition? Look it up in The Insurance Glossary, home to dozens of easy-to-follow definitions for the most common insurance terms. Or, get an online quote in under 5 minutes and find out how affordable personalized home insurance can be.
About the expert: Daniel Mirkovic
A co-founder of Square One with 25 years of experience in the insurance industry, Daniel was previously vice president of the insurance and travel divisions at the British Columbia Automobile Association. Daniel has a bachelor of commerce and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia. He holds a Canadian Accredited Insurance Broker (CAIB) designation and a general insurance license level 3 in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.
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