The Spanish property insurance policies can be just what you need and are advisable under certain circumstances, but be aware that they are often different to the home insurance policies you will have been used to “back home”. Spanish home insurance policies will often be written in Spanish, and even if they provide you with an English version as some do, if you read the small print you will find that in the event of dispute “the Spanish policy wording will prevail”. So if they made a mistake in their translation, or have missed something off, it’s your problem not theirs !
They will also often have a very low liability cover (compared to the cover you would expect and get from a UK provider), which can be as low as about EUR 100K - 200K. This is important for everyone, but even more so for anyone who is planning to rent out their property, even just to let friends use it without charge, as if they have an accident, they can now sue you for damages in the UK, and 200K Euros will not go far under such circumstances.
Also check on things like “all risks” to see if some of your contents will be covered whilst away from the property (jewellery for example) and also the excess on the policy (the amount you have to pay before the insurance company pay anything). Be aware that with excesses there will often be more than one, so although you may see in the highlights of the policy a “policy excess” stated, there may well be a higher excess that applies to things like subsidence. Also, subsidence cover is sometimes not included at all.
Also for holiday homes etc, check to see if the policy requires you to have the property inspected regularly whilst it is unoccupied for more than a certain period of time or take specific precautions such as turning off the water etc. There are lots of hurdles, so do try to speak to an expert.
Using a Broker who has access to a number of different policies, including UK policis written in English will present you with a good opportunity to get the right cover at the right price, and one who focuses on the Spanish market, and ideally for expats will be the best bet. ** EDITED ** Commercial post
Make sure the Broker you choose however is properly authorised to operate in Spain, either by the DGS (Spanish regulator), or their “home state regulator”. For UK companies operating in Spain this is the Financial Services Authority (FSA). There are a number of companies in Spain who are operating outside of the law in this regard, and as of July 2007 the sale of all general insurance in Spain is a regulated activity and can only be offered by companies who are regulated.
This is very good news for the consumer, especially those who are English speaking and as such do not fully understand many insurance policies they are advised to buy. It is however very bad news for any person or company promoting insurance if they are not fully authorised and regulated, as they will now be breaking the law.
** EDITED ** Commercial post
Hope this is useful.
This message was last edited by alarice on 3/11/2008.