Spanish Insurance - What You Need To Know
This section of our website is based upon
either our knowledge of the Insurance industry or the experiences of some
of our clients and we would particularly like to thank them for passing
this information to us. We have chosen to publish the information
here as we believe you are entitled to an informed choice when selecting
the Insurance package that is right for you.
Policy Wording - Policy wording can differ greatly to
that in the U.K. which can mean that, where you think you are fully
covered you may not be. We recommend you take out insurance that carries an English written policy or ask your agent to
fully explain what is and is not covered.
Spanish Insurance
Policies - Many insurance policies are written in
Spanish with no English version available meaning that, even if you
manage to obtain a copy of your policy (and it appears many people
don't), unless you have an excellent
understanding of Spanish you are unlikely to know what is and is not
covered.
The Two Month Law
Applicable to Spanish Insurance
Policies -
Within Spain
there exists a totally unethical and unprofessional
Two Months Notice
Law which means that under Spanish law a person has to give two months
notice of their intention of cancelling a policy, if the two months
notice is not given the insurer is able to take the premium from that
person’s bank account. The only way to stop the insurer from
taking the premium is to instruct the bank to cancel the direct debit
before the insurance company has the chance to take the premium - thus
ensuring that the insurer cannot get hold of your money without
authorisation.
Expat
Insurance in Spain consider this law to be unjust and biased toward
Spanish Insurers and deplore the activity of taking monies from clients'
bank accounts without prior authorisation. Indeed we consider this
type of activity to be "Exploitation of Clients".
Spanish insurers have the
ability and resources to bypass this law but for obvious reasons prefer
not to. For this reason, where possible we will not use an insurer
who uses this law.
Some banks refuse to cancel
the direct debit though legally they cannot refuse. Indeed most
banks have ties with Spanish insurers. If your bank refuses to
cancel a direct debit we suggest you consider moving to a different bank
or, if this is difficult, at least make certain there are insufficient
funds in the account at the time the premium is requested by the
insurer. Eventually the insurer will cancel the policy as a result
of non-payment and block you from taking out insurance with them in the
future but, if the insurer is upholding this unethical law is it really
a loss to you if they block you from using them in the future - and
would you want to use them anyway?
Paying Your Premium -
In view of the two
month law referred to above, although it is not always possible, we try
to avoid taking your bank details for payment of your premium.
These bank details have to be provided to the insurers who can use them
to take your premium upon renewal - even if you do not want them to.
A better method of paying your premium is by debit/credit card, bank
transfer without revealing your own bank details or cash in an
Agents/Brokers office. Using this method you retain control of who
takes money from your bank account.
Properties with a Mortgage - If you are purchasing a property on a
mortgage, you will need to take out, at the very least, Buildings (and
often Life)
Insurance. Many banks insist you take out your insurance with
them. Some will even imply it is a condition of the mortgage
that you take the insurance out with them.
IT
IS NOT. Though it is a condition of the mortgage that the property is insured, you are free to purchase
your insurance from whoever you wish provided the insurance covers
the mortgage and names the bank as beneficiary.
If
you take out your insurance with a bank the chances are you will be
paying very much more than the normal price for it !
Spanish Home Insurance Policies
- Where possible we will only offer
British home insurance for your property in Spain. In our opinion
British policies carry superior cover and the claims handling process is
often more efficient Most British policies are much the same as
those you would expect to find in the UK with many optional covers.
With many Spanish home insurance products there are several key items to
be aware of:
- Both wind speed and rainfall are measured throughout the
Country. If damage to your property results from either high
winds or heavy rain and the measurement at the time in your area was
below the level required your claim is likely to fail. We say
that damage caused to your property by high winds or heavy rain
should be covered whatever the measurement provided the property is
well maintained.
- Many Spanish policies provide cover for accidental damage
however, we recommend that before committing yourself, you check the
exclusions. In many cases accidental damage cover is not the
full accidental damage cover that you would find on a British home
insurance policy. An example of this is a laptop computer.
Many policies do not cover portable electrical appliances therefore
if you drop it you will not be covered. Another example is the
glass door on your oven. If the door is accidentally slammed
shut and the glass breaks you are probably covered, however if only
the hinge breaks you may not be covered.
- Be wary of "all risks" cover on a Spanish home insurance policy.
On most policies it simply does not exist. If you remove an
item temporarily from the home and it is stolen
it may not be covered unless
force and/or intimidation is used. For example, if you go
shopping and place your handbag in the car whilst you load the boot
and it is stolen by an opportunist you are unlikely to be covered.
Whilst we appreciate many people will have experienced a good claims
service from their Spanish home insurance provider there are a great
many exceptions and our aim is to try to prevent our clients from being
disappointed when help is needed and that is why the vast majority of
our home insurance policies are through British insurers.
What is and is not Covered - Prior to purchasing your insurance package,
we at Expat Insurance in Spain recommend you insist the Insurance
Agent or Broker tells you exactly what is and is not covered.
If the Agent or Broker cannot or will not provide this information, we suggest you walk away and
purchase your insurance from someone who can.
Is A British Motor Insurance Policy Issued
in Spain Legal - Yes of course, although some Spanish
insurers will tell you it is not! A British motor insurance policy
issued in Spain is no different to a Spanish one although the Policy
Wording and support will be in English and in many cases the
Certificates will be bi-lingual. Your insurance policy is
registered in the same way as any other and it is also recorded on the
British Insurance Database meaning that both the DVLA and British Police
will also be aware that your vehicle is insured. You can also tax
your UK registered vehicle using one of these insurance policies.
Vehicles over 10 years
old - Many insurance companies in Spain will only cover vehicles over 10
years old on a Third Party Only basis.
Vehicles Registered in
the UK - At Expat
Insurance in Spain we insure cars, motorbikes, vans and other
vehicles that are registered in the UK. The vehicle can be
right or left hand drive.
Spanish Registered Vehicles are Cheaper to
Insure than those Registered in
the UK -
Not
Necessarily !!! Though having a Spanish registered vehicle
will give more choice of insurer, in most cases both Spanish and UK
registered vehicles cost the same to insure. The insurance
companies used by Expat Insurance in Spain do not differentiate between
one or the other.
Breakdown Recovery - Most insurance companies automatically include breakdown recovery as part of the insurance package. If Breakdown Recovery is not automatically included we recommend you request it, not least because it is illegal to tow a vehicle on the roads in Spain, but also because if you are unfortunate enough to have an accident with no Breakdown Recovery, the police will arrange recovery which can prove expensive.
Protection of your No Claims Bonus - Many insurance companies in Spain now offer protection of your No Claims Bonus. This is normally an optional extra that costs around 10% more on your policy package. We recommend that drivers consider taking this option where possible.
Your Vehicle Insurance - Unlike the UK, in Spain it is the vehicle that is insured - not the driver. It is normal for vehicle insurance policies to be issued permitting any driver over a certain age, in some cases over 25 and in others over 30. This provides for more freedom over who drives the vehicle with the owners permission. If however you do not want anyone else driving your vehicle you can, in some cases, gain a discount on the insurance premium by restricting named drivers.
Private Medical
Insurance - Many people, when they arrive in Spain,
fail to appreciate the value of Private Medical Insurance. Not
everyone is automatically entitled to free routine medical treatment
in Spain. We have seen numerous cases where Expatriates
believe they are entitled to Spanish health care only to find they
are not. The result can be both financially disastrous and
extremely stressful. At Expat Insurance
in Spain we strongly recommend you consider taking out Private Medical
Insurance. If you are not entitled to Spanish medical
treatment it is essential.
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