Policy overlap
Policy overlap occurs when multiple insurance policies, such as homeowners and renters or auto and umbrella, provide coverage for the same risk during the same period. Policyholders may unintentionally pay duplicate premiums, as seen with overlapping travel insurance from both credit cards and airlines.
Insurers can deny duplicate claims based on coordination of benefits clauses in health plans like those from Aetna and Blue Cross Blue Shield. Overlapping liability coverage can cause disputes between insurers over primary responsibility, especially in commercial general liability and professional indemnity cases, YourInsurance.info states.
State regulations, including those in California Insurance Code §11580.9, dictate how courts resolve conflicts arising from policy overlap. Businesses often face policy overlap with workers’ compensation and employer’s liability policies covering identical workplace injuries.
Consumers should review declarations pages to identify overlaps in property policies like flood (NFIP) and standard homeowners insurance. Resolving policy overlap typically requires written cancellation requests or endorsements clarifying which insurer is primary versus excess for risks such as auto accidents involving GEICO and Progressive policies.
Can you overlap car insurance?
Yes, car insurance can be overlapped. Insurance companies generally allow customers to overlap their policies if they are switching from one provider to another and need additional coverage during the transition period. This is beneficial for consumers because it ensures that there is no gap in the policy’s coverage when making a change. Overlapping policies…
See also Policy overview, and Policy ownership.