Damage, theft, extended warranty: what your bank card may already cover

By Pierre Leonet, founder of Garanti, responsible publisher · Updated on 4 November 2026

Your card may already cover it.

Breakage, theft, extension: the clear guide.

In short: several Belgian bank cards include purchase insurance (theft or accidental damage) and an extension of the manufacturer warranty, provided you paid with the card. Limits, durations and deductibles vary by card and contract: this guide summarises them, backed by official sources.

Your tablet falls three weeks after purchase and the screen cracks in one corner. You think, « that’s my bad luck ». Yet the card you used to pay for it may reimburse the repair. You do, however, need to know that this protection exists, and under what conditions.

Legacy cards and new offers: do not confuse them

KBC no longer offers Silver, Gold and Platinum to new customers. They are being gradually replaced by the new KBC credit card (KBC-Kredietkaart) between April 2025 and April 2027. The legacy cards remain in this comparison for purchases to which their policies apply: these are not offers available to take out today. KBC states that their insurance ends upon replacement, while preserving cover for purchases made when the legacy card was active, subject to the applicable terms.

New KBC card: Pack Shopping (Shoppingpakket) is optional and costs 1,50 €/month. It notably covers damage and aggravated theft for 90 days and adds two years after the legal guarantee for eligible goods. The subscription must be in place from the time of purchase and maintained until the insured event; merely holding the card is not enough. For damage and theft, the policy uses the purchase date or a documented later delivery date, but the purchase date for goods bought online. The limits differ by type of cover, as shown below.

Visa Gold ING and BNP Paribas Fortis: the current public offers consulted feature Mastercard Gold and Visa Classic, not Visa Gold. Legacy policies remain relevant for the cardholders concerned; the exact withdrawal date and the arrangements for retaining each Visa Gold still need to be confirmed with the bank. The ING Visa Gold, listed in the Garanti catalogue, is not treated as equivalent to Mastercard Gold here.

The four most common types of protection

1. Accidental damage

The typical scenario: you drop the item and the screen breaks, through your own fault. This is not a manufacturing defect, so the legal guarantee does not apply. Home insurance generally does not cover this either, unless you have an « all risks » or « valuables » option. Card protection may then step in for a short period after purchase: 90 days to 12 months, depending on the cards in our comparison.

2. Theft

Cards usually cover qualified theft involving forced entry or assault. Simple theft, loss and unexplained disappearance are frequently excluded.

3. Extended warranty

In Belgium, a new item bought from a professional seller benefits from a two-year legal guarantee of conformity. Some cards’ extended warranties then extend cover for breakdowns. Depending on the policy, this starts after the legal guarantee or after the manufacturer’s warranty. It is often limited to certain categories, such as household appliances or audio/TV equipment, and sometimes excludes computing equipment and phones.

4. Online purchases not delivered or not as ordered

You have paid, but the parcel does not arrive or its contents do not match the order. This protection generally requires you to have paid online with the card and first complained to the seller, sometimes by registered letter.

Le tableau des protections des cartes en Belgique

Not every catalogue entry provides an extended warranty. Legacy offers remain relevant to eligible purchases; a debit card or paid option must not be presented as a credit card with included insurance.

Here is the purchase protection offered by current cards, legacy cards still held by customers and the new KBC option. Not every card in this table is available to new customers. How to read the table:

• « Not identified » : the protection does not appear in the documents analysed, which does not prove that it does not exist.
• « Amount not recorded » : no amount was found in the documents analysed. This does not mean there is no cap, deductible or condition.
• The limits are often shared across several types of protection: they cannot be added together.

Swipe the table sideways to see all columns →

Ce tableau reprend le catalogue Garanti, le même que celui de l'app : chaque protection a été comparée au contrat officiel par l'IA (« Détecté par IA »). La disponibilité commerciale et le contrat applicable à votre achat restent à confirmer auprès de votre banque.

References to complete before comparing figures

Belfius Classic, Debit Star and Debit New; CBC Globe; Argenta debit card; Crelan Visa Gold; Hello bank! Mastercard: references need clarification before quoting card-specific figures. This does not remove any protection saved in Garanti or establish an absence of cover.

Data from the Garanti catalogue, October 2026. Garanti receives no remuneration from the banks or insurers mentioned. Links to the official terms are listed at the end of the article.

What this table shows:

• Coverage periods vary considerably. Damage is covered for 90 days by most cards, 120 days by BNP Paribas Fortis, 200 days by ING and Beobank, and 12 months by Revolut.
• Smartphones often have separate rules. The new Pack Shopping KBC excludes smartphones and wearables; Beobank offers separate, shorter smartphone protection, while Revolut limits this protection to one claim per year.
• Extended warranties have limits. With legacy KBC cards, computing equipment is covered by Platinum, not Silver or Gold; the new Pack Shopping includes certain computers, tablets and accessories listed in the appendix. Categories and places of purchase remain decisive.
• Entry-level cards offer protection too. Argenta Silver covers damage for 90 days up to 750 €. Do not confuse the free insurance requiring activation on the legacy KBC Silver with the new paid Pack Shopping.

Conditions to check

• Partial payment. Depending on the card, you must have paid at least 50 % of the price with it, or the full amount. A purchase paid partly in cash or with another card may not be covered.
• Excluded categories. Excluded phones, extensions limited to household appliances, professional or second-hand goods: read the list of exclusions before relying on the protection.
• The excess and thresholds. An excess of 75 € makes a small repair less worthwhile. Most policies only cover purchases of at least 50 €, sometimes 100 € for online purchases.
• Activation. Some card insurance is free but must be activated, such as that of the KBC Silver. Check that yours is activated.

For the legal guarantee and the steps to take with the seller, also see our practical guide to shopping in Belgium.

Keep the evidence before it breaks

Photograph the receipt on the day of purchase and store it in a private space rather than in a drawer. For each purchase, Garanti distinguishes between the legal guarantee, the manufacturer’s warranty and the protection linked to the card used. Activate reminders to be notified before they expire. When a problem arises, Garanti prepares the claim message with the supporting documents: you review it, and you send it yourself. Garanti never asks for your card number.

Protection already paid for, evidence finally ready

Garanti is neither a bank card nor insurance: it helps you gather supporting documents, track deadlines and prepare the steps needed to use protection you may already be paying for, without guaranteeing compensation.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

An error or a condition that has changed? Email us at support@gesmo.be : we will correct it promptly.

Article published on 28 October 2026. Each bank’s official terms are authoritative.