Insurance for your Spanish residence

Home insurance in Spain, or "Seguros de Hogar" in Spanish, is as important for vacation homes, as it is for rental properties and homes where you will live yourself. This type of insurance is generally cheaper in Spain than in our country. And if you buy with a mortgage, they are required by the bank! Of course, there are differences when it comes to service between the cheap and more expensive insurance policies. It is therefore important that you look for the right balance between price and coverage. After all, a vacation home does not need the same coverage as a home you will live in full time.

Two types of home insurance

With home insurance, like ours, you have two types: home insurance or contents insurance. So you can choose to insure only the home itself, only the contents, or both.

Home Insurance

With home insurance or building insurance, your home is insured against damage from fire, lightning and storm as well as theft and burglary. Water damage is also often included. This includes not only the house itself, but everything attached to the house. Do you have a kitchen with built-in appliances? If so, this is also part of the building insurance. This also includes your windows and plumbing! The amount insured is what you would have to spend to rebuild the home, i.e., the rebuilding value.

Contents insurance

Contents insurance covers damage to your entire household contents, i.e., all the things in your home. This can be due to fire, a burst water pipe, burglary, ... The damage caused by this to your personal belongings is covered by this insurance. The minimum for this insurance is often €6,000.

What to watch out for

Liability Insurance

In Spain, you are also required to have liability insurance. This is similar to our family insurance. Liability insurance pays for financial loss or bodily injury for which you or your family members are liable. Especially when you yourself are not present every day, this insurance is important! For example, suppose there was a storm that caused your roof tiles to come loose. If those roof tiles then fall off and hit a bystander, this liability insurance comes into play. This insurance is often included in a standard home insurance policy.

Value of insurance

You determine the value of these insurances yourself - whereas with us it is determined by the selling price, estimates, certain formulas, ... It is therefore important that you call in a local intermediary who can help you with this valuation so that you are not under- or over-insured. With household contents, also be sure to note the difference between purchase value and replacement value.

Reimbursement limits

For foreigners not living full-time in Spain, there are often reimbursement limits. Those limits will then depend on how much time you spend in your Spanish home. Do you spend only a few weeks a year there? Then your insurance will reimburse much less than if you spend several months a year there. So be sure to ask about this when purchasing your insurance as well!

Alarm Systems

There are certain Spanish insurers that attach conditions to their insurance, such as an alarm system. In fact, the price of your premium also often depends on how secure your home is. In the fine print, you can then sometimes read that your insurance will only intervene if you have set your alarm. Did you forget to activate your alarm and get burglarized? If so, insurance will not intervene in that case.

Taking out home insurance

Are you looking for home insurance for your property in Spain? Then you have 3 options for taking one out:

1. Arrange insurance through a bank in Spain. As with us, every Spanish bank also offers home and contents insurance. This is often the cheapest option, but you have to pay close attention to the fine print.
2. Or work with one of the many insurance brokers in Spain. The advantage is that they will compare different options for you and together you can look for the best insurance for your situation. The language barrier can be a drawback here, though.
3. You can also get insurance in Belgium. There are insurance companies that also offer insurance abroad - either through their delegation in that country or through subcontractors. The advantage is then that you will always be helped in your own language, the disadvantage is that the premiums are often slightly more expensive because of the intermediary.

Insurance for tenants

Tenants themselves are also expected to purchase buildings insurance and contents insurance. You are required by law as a tenant to have partial buildings insurance. This is to cover damage to certain property such as glass, locks, flooring, plumbing, etc. Own contents insurance then covers damage to or loss of the tenant's personal belongings. So if a renter has a laptop with them that gets stolen, or a fire breaks out that damages clothing and jewelry, that is covered by this insurance.

Need help?

We are happy to help! In fact, in our roadmap we also provide help during the practicalities of the sale and move. Our years of experience and extensive knowledge are at your service!