Insurance in the United States refers to the market for risk in the United States, the world's largest insurance market by premium volume. According to Swiss Re, of the 6.287trillionofglobaldirectpremiumswrittenworldwidein2020,6.287 trillion of global direct premiums written worldwide in 2020, 6.287trillionofglobaldirectpremiumswrittenworldwidein2020,2.530 trillion (40.3%) were written in the United States. Insurance, generally, is a contract in which the insurer agrees to compensate or indemnify another party (the insured, the policyholder or a beneficiary) for specified loss or damage to a specified thing (e.g., an item, property or life) from certain perils or risks in exchange for a fee (the insurance premium). For example, a property insurance company may agree to bear the risk that a particular piece of property (e.g., a car or a house) may suffer a specific type or types of damage or loss during a certain period of time in exchange for a fee from the policyholder who would otherwise be responsible for that damage or loss. That agreement takes the form of an insurance policy. Insurance provides indemnification against loss or liability from specified events and circumstances that may occur or be discovered during a specified period. —FASB Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 113, "Accounting for Reinsurance of Short-Duration and Long-Duration Contracts" December 1992 (en)