COB redaction is the removal of IDs from a coordination-of-benefits record, where a person holds two policies covering the same risk. There is no single UK statute governing how the two insurers split the bill; instead each policy’s own COB clause and the common-law principle of contribution between insurers on the same risk decide the order of payment. anonym.plus works locally and keeps that order-of-payment logic intact while clearing the identifiers under DPA 2018 & UK GDPR.
When this applies
A dual-coverage record names the patient and lists two insurers, each with its own membership number, working out their contribution under their policies’ COB clauses. To audit the payment order, clear every ID first and keep the clauses that decide who pays what share.
How anonym.plus handles it
- Load the record into anonym.plus on your device.
- It finds the patient and both sets of insurer IDs.
- Each membership number gets flagged as its own item.
- Keep the primary and secondary payment order.
- Swap or black out the confirmed IDs.
- Save the clean copy on your machine.
What you need to provide
- The record (PDF, DOCX, or insurer export).
- An operator (Redact for slim audit copies).
- Optional alias map so each insurer maps cleanly.
Patient data entity types detected
| Category | anonym.plus entity type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Names | PERSON | Patient Sara Volk → [PATIENT] |
| Primary ID | UK_HEALTH_INSURANCE_MEMBER | Pri BUP-881102 → [PRIMARY_ID] |
| Secondary ID | UK_HEALTH_INSURANCE_MEMBER | Sec AXA-449920 → [SECONDARY_ID] |
| Account | ACCOUNT_NUMBER | Acct 7741 → [ACCOUNT] |
| Dates | DATE_TIME | Treatment 02/14 → [DATE] |
| NI number | UK_NINO | QQ 12 34 56 C → [ID] |
Compliance achieved
- Meets DPA 2018 & UK GDPR for reuse of health data.
- Keeps the contribution logic each insurer's own COB clause sets, since no single statute fixes the split.
- Catches both insurers' membership numbers as separate identifiers.
- Offline work keeps the record within your organisation.
Anonymise COB records offline — see plans & start free →
Limitations & cautions
Dual coverage doubles the IDs. Check that both insurers’ numbers are mapped, since a missed secondary ID can still name the person. The payment-order logic stays and is not treated as an identifier.
Frequently asked questions
Why do COB records carry extra IDs?
A person holds two policies, so the file lists a primary and a secondary membership number rather than one. Both are identifiers in their own right, and both are flagged, because each insurer's system tracks the claim under its own number.
Does the payment order survive redaction?
Yes. The contribution clause each policy sets, and the order it produces, stay untouched. Only the identifying fields change, so the record is still useful for a payment-order audit.
Can the two insurers stay distinct after the swap?
Yes. An alias map keeps each insurer under its own steady label across the record, so the contribution logic between [PRIMARY_ID] and [SECONDARY_ID] remains readable even once the real numbers are gone.