Q.A godown worth ₹1,00,000 is insured against fire — ₹60,000 with Insurer A and ₹40,000 with Insurer B, both policies covering the same risk. A fire causes a loss of ₹50,000. How much can the owner recover, and how much must each insurer pay?

This is a straightforward double-insurance apportionment: total recovery is capped at the actual loss, and each insurer contributes in proportion to its own sum insured.

A's share = (60,000 / 1,00,000) × 50,000 = ₹30,000. B's share = (40,000 / 1,00,000) × 50,000 = ₹20,000. Cross-check: 30,000 + 20,000 = 50,000, exactly matching the actual loss — confirming the principle of indemnity has not been breached.

Step 1 — Identify the principle. This is a case of double insurance: the same godown, against the same risk (fire), is insured with two insurers, A and B. Since fire insurance is a contract of indemnity, the owner cannot recover more than the actual loss suffered (₹50,000), however much total sum insured (₹1,00,000) he holds across both policies. Each insurer contributes towards the loss in proportion to its own share of the total sum insured — the principle of contribution.

Step 2 — Compute each insurer's proportionate share.

• Insurer A's proportion of total sum insured = ₹60,000 ÷ ₹1,00,000 = 0.6 (60%).
• Insurer A's share of the loss = 0.6 × ₹50,000 = ₹30,000.
• Insurer B's proportion of total sum insured = ₹40,000 ÷ ₹1,00,000 = 0.4 (40%).
• Insurer B's share of the loss = 0.4 × ₹50,000 = ₹20,000.

Step 3 — Independently verify (dual-solve). Re-checking by adding the two computed shares: ₹30,000 + ₹20,000 = ₹50,000 — this exactly equals the actual loss suffered, confirming the apportionment is correct and that the owner has not been allowed to recover anything beyond his genuine ₹50,000 loss (the principle of indemnity holds).

Step 4 — State the result. The owner recovers the full ₹50,000 loss, but split between the two insurers strictly in proportion to their respective sums insured — never more than ₹50,000 in total from both together.