Check if you are insured twice

What is double insurance?

You are insured twice when two policies cover the same risk for the same thing, for example a separate gadget policy for a phone that your home contents policy already covers outside the home. You pay two premiums, but you can never be paid out more than the actual loss.

How common is double insurance?

More common than people think, especially for gadgets. In a 2024 Which? survey, two in three people without separate gadget insurance were already covered through their home insurance. Ireland’s Central Bank found that 21% of gadget insurance buyers had not cancelled their previous policy after taking out a new one.

Sources: Which?, 12 September 2024 · Central Bank of Ireland, 5 December 2017 (survey of 700 buyers).

Which overlaps does Covera check?

Covera checks 4 kinds of possible overlap in the policies you add:

• Two policies of the same type for one item, such as two car policies for the same number plate or two contents policies for one address.
• Phone policy and home contents: contents policies often cover mobile devices, also outside the home.
• Bicycle policy and home contents: some contents policies include bicycles.
• Travel and health cover: when your health policy includes emergency care abroad, part of your travel cover may overlap.

What happens with a claim when I am insured twice?

You can claim from either insurer, but in total you never receive more than your actual loss; the insurers then share the cost between them. In Belgium this is set out in art. 99 of the Insurance Act, in the Netherlands in art. 7:960 and 7:961 of the Civil Code. So the second premium mostly buys you nothing.

What should I do when Covera flags an overlap?

Open both policies in Covera and compare what each one covers, the limits and the deductible. Overlap is not always total: a gadget policy may cover accidental damage that contents does not. If one policy adds nothing you need, cancel it at the next possible moment and keep the other.