One way to hold indemnify: someone takes a loss, and another side puts them back where they stood before it. The word covers the same act at two moments. First the promise, written into a contract before anything breaks. Then the money, handed over after something has broken. Both moments aim at the same picture, which is a hole being filled until it looks as if nothing happened.
The packet's source gives the make-up of the word as indemn ("unhurt") plus -ify, the ending that makes verbs. That lines up with the core: to keep someone unhurt, or to put them back to unhurt.
來源把這個字拆成 indemn（未受傷害）加上 -ify（使變成）。這和核心畫面正好對得上：讓對方維持在沒受傷害的狀態，或是把他補回那個狀態。
Wiktionary entry supplied in this packet (kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:1023699515:13035): 'From indemn ("unhurt") + -ify (forming verbs)'
Two branches
事前的承諾
這一支站在損失之前。洞還沒破，出錢的人已經舉手了。
verb · C2
To promise that you will pay for any loss or damage that happens to someone, or to something they own. The promise is usually written into a contract or an insurance policy before anything has gone wrong.
承保；保證賠償
事後的付款
這一支站在損失之後。承諾兌現，錢真的動了，缺口被補平。
verb · C2
To pay someone money because of a loss, an injury, or damage that they have already suffered, so that they are put back where they were before.
賠償；補償