We have house and car insurance with Mapfre and can only speak well of them. We suffered water damage from 2 burst pipes under the kitchen and bathroom floors, floors that had been laid 30 years ago, they dealt with it perfectly. Had we not had spare floor tiles they would have put in complete new floors in both the kitchen and the bathroom. We did find them evasive on the nationwide telephone number that they have but in the local office they couldn't have been more helpful.
I would have thought that a visit to their local office would supply you with the information you need. What happens here is that they send someone to the local office from Marbella, 40 km away to answer questions of that nature on 1 or 2 days a week which is perfectly acceptable. Here, also, they speak English if you need it, where you are, inland, may be more difficult. If they don't, best to drag a Spanish friend along with you.
So far as your claim was concerned, if you seriously believe they should have paid out then you should challenge their decision, you have an absolute right to do that.
Good luck
This message was last edited by ehw on 02/06/2013.