Two policies for the same damage: who should handle your claim?

1. Compare interest, peril and insured person

Put both policies side by side. What interest is covered, against which event and for whom? The Verbond defines overlap as the same interest insured against the same peril under more than one policy. Two home products therefore need not cover the same loss. Owner and tenant insurance may protect different interests. Make an overview per loss item, identifying actual overlap and parts potentially outside both policies.

2. Disclose the complete situation

Give every insurer relevant policy details and the same factual event description. Keep notifications and acknowledgements. Do not omit another policy to obtain faster payment. Different accounts can create another unnecessary dispute. Identify uncertainty honestly and label later additions. Ask each insurer for a file number and contact. Disclose amounts already received too, avoiding the false impression that an item remains entirely unpaid.

3. Read the overlap provisions

Find provisions on other insurance, contribution and priority in both sets of conditions. Note the clause used for referral. Have a lawyer assess how texts interact with each other and the law. Do not assume the cheapest policy comes last or the earliest always pays. Priority and relationships may be more complex. Request a reasoned written position instead of repeatedly calling departments that merely point elsewhere.

Article 7:961(1) BW provides a specific starting point: where more than one insurance covers the same damage, the insured can in principle claim from each insurer, subject to article 7:960’s prohibition of overcompensation. You cannot recover the same loss twice. The insurer approached may suspend performance until you identify the other policies. Supply full policy details and previous payments. Overlap or other-insurance clauses may determine whether double cover actually exists; have them assessed before applying this starting point.

4. Distinguish your claim from insurers’ arrangements

The Verbond describes an overlap arrangement for member non-life insurers and a committee for disputes between them. This is not necessarily your consumer complaint procedure. Ask who decides your substantive entitlement and who internally coordinates distribution. Disagreement between insurers does not automatically explain lack of a clear answer to your claim. A lawyer can identify recipients and rights. A sector arrangement reference does not itself establish acceptance of cover under both policies.

Article 7:961(3) BW also governs recovery between insurers in proportion to amounts each could separately owe. Their recovery differs from your claim against an insurer. Make no commitments prejudicing that recovery and disclose payments already received. Sector agreements can facilitate dealings between participants but do not themselves prove which policy covers your loss.

5. Track damage and payment per item

Record loss, excess, limits and discussion under each policy. List earlier advances and final payments. A payment may settle one item without settling everything. Ask in writing which item is paid and how offsetting works. Do not sign, without review, a settlement appearing to close claims against another party too. The relationship between policies may affect remaining rights. A higher combined insured sum does not itself prove greater damage.

6. Address referral disputes specifically

Give your adviser both positions and clauses and request clarification of the real issue: overlap, missing cover or insured identity? If necessary make an identifiable internal complaint to each provider. The AFM recommends written handling and reply. Then check whether Kifid can handle the complaint against that party or court is needed. Monitor each entitlement’s deadlines separately. Complaining to one insurer does not automatically protect every right against the other.

7. Fictional example: the same camera on a trip

Suppose someone reports a stolen camera and sees possible travel cover and household cover including possessions outside the home. Each insurer must first assess its own conditions and the event. The insured supplies both policies, purchase evidence, notification and payments received. This fictional example does not mean every camera theft falls under both products. Compare each item and peril; two premiums must not replace the overlap analysis with an assumption of two complete payments.

8. Checklist when insurers refer you elsewhere

Ask a lawyer which claim is made against whom and which distribution issue belongs between insurers. Discuss costs, evidence and protective deadline actions. Keep one updated payment overview giving everyone the same factual picture.

• Both schedules, conditions and overlap clauses.
• Insured interests, people and loss items overview.
• Consistent original notifications and acknowledgements.
• Written positions and mutual referrals.
• Advances, payments, settlements and deadlines per party.