When it comes to insurance, too much of a good thing can be wonderful. When it comes to the prospect of overlapping coverage between two health insurance plans though, many people wonder about the legality of such a thing. Not to fear, though; when it comes to health insurance, overlapping coverage is perfectly legal, and a perfectly great idea if you have the option. Your health is your most important asset, and one that happens to be increasingly expensive to repair if something should go terribly wrong.

In fact, bankruptcy claims are often filed due to the presence of overwhelming medical bills that an uninsured (or underinsured) claimant cannot pay. It goes without saying that bankruptcy is a devastating financial event to emerge from, and protecting yourself against such a thing to the best of your abilities should always be one of your highest priorities. Health insurance is, of course, the best line of defense when it comes to protecting yourself against obscenely high medical bills, and two (or more) policies are always better than one.

The possibility of obtaining overlapping health insurance coverage usually comes about when two domestic partners are each working, and each employer offers health insurance to all in the household. Sometimes, one partner will be covered automatically by a default health insurance plan (often with minimal benefits,) provided by their employer, while the other partner extends their own insurance options to cover the entire family. Should the first partner become very sick or injured under circumstances that their default health insurance plan doesn't cover, the second partner's more comprehensive health insurance safety net can indeed mean the difference between normalcy and bankruptcy once the sick partner is well again.

And of course, the fact that some insurance companies are easier to work with than others is something else to take into consideration when the prospect of overlapping health coverage comes up. If you can financially swing two different health insurance plans at once, it certainly behooves you to do so. Many people never bother to check the customer service ratings of their chosen health insurance company until they find themselves faced with a hefty bill as the result of an arbitrary reimbursement denial. And of course, insurance of any kind is useless if the company that issued the policy is less than forthcoming with payments when you need them most. A secondary health insurance plan in this type of case can indeed bring some much-needed relief in the face of an ugly situation.

Perhaps, when asking yourself if you can afford overlapping coverage, you should instead ask if you can afford NOT to have it.