Note

Home insurance for non-residents in Spain

§ 1The honest description

The insurance contract law says that the policyholder must answer the insurer’s questionnaire and declare the circumstances they know that affect the risk. If the answers are false or incomplete, the insurer can rescind the contract within one month of learning of it. For a home that you do not live in all year, the questions that matter are how many months it is occupied, how long it can stand empty, who holds keys and what security it has. This page belongs to the chapter on more on home insurance.

§ 2Changes in use

The law also requires you to tell the insurer when circumstances that raise the risk arise during the contract, for example a long vacancy, works, or the start of a let. The insurer can propose a change in the terms and, if it is not accepted, end the contract within the periods the law sets. We read the articles on this aggravation of risk, and they put the time limits in the hands of the insurer after notice, so give notice in writing and keep the reply.

§ 3Vacancy conditions

Many policies treat a long vacancy as a condition: close the water at the main tap, turn off the power at the board, or have someone inspect the home at fixed intervals. The wording differs from policy to policy and we do not quote any. Read it before you sign and again each time you leave for a long stay. More on what a policy covers explains the schedule, and the chapter on managing from abroad deals with who can do the inspections.

§ 4Holiday and long lets

If you let the home to holidaymakers or to a tenant, the insurer must know. A policy for owner occupation may not cover damage by guests or the owner’s liability to them, and tourist lets can also need cover required by regional rules, which the section on renting and investing explains. A tenant’s own cover does not replace yours for the building.

§ 5Notices and claims from abroad

Give the insurer a postal address, an email, a phone number and a local contact. The deadline to report a loss is seven days from learning of it, so someone in Spain must be able to act or call you at once. More on making a claim explains how to prepare the report and what to keep.

§ 6Value and currency

The sum insured is in euros, and the value of rebuilding may rise. Review the sum each year and after any improvement. A low sum can lead the insurer to apply the proportional rule, as the law allows when the sum is lower than the value at the time of the loss.

§ 7Ask for it in writing

Ask the insurer to confirm in writing how it treats vacancy, lets and keyholders, and file the reply with the policy. If an answer comes by phone, send an email that repeats it.

Legal note. How the process works in general. It is not legal advice, and it never replaces an independent Spanish lawyer acting for you.