Tips to get a good Home Insurance in Spain.

When asked how to get better and cheaper home insurance in Spain, here are some tips that could help you reduce the cost of your policy without sacrificing essential cover. It is important to remember that prices can vary depending on the location of your home and the specific details you need.

Although home insurance is not compulsory in Spain, it is highly recommended to protect your investment against any eventuality. In Meridional we would like to give you some tips so that you can optimise your home insurance in Spain and what are the aspects you have to take into account when choosing a policy.

5 Tips on how to get good home insurance in Spain

Claiming defects in a newly purchased property

Tip 1: Use an Insurance Brokerage Firm

An insurance broker can save you time and money by comparing quotes from different Spanish home insurance companies. Brokers have direct access to the major insurers and can get special rates that may not be known to the general public.

These brokers will first get to know your particular case, advise you and then look for the most cost-effective policy that best suits your needs, comparing various offers and the best options available on the market.

If they also have information, policies and customer support in English, as is the case with Meridional, it can be especially useful if you ever need to know policy details or help filing a claim.

In Meridional, we collaborate with the insurance brokerage Coseba, with more than 37 years of experience and 70 offices throughout Spain, to offer you very competitive home insurance quotes with the best national and international insurers.

Tip 2: Do It Yourself

If you prefer to do the search yourself, there are price comparison websites on the Internet where you can enter the details and circumstances of your property to get the lowest quote in seconds.

It should be borne in mind that in online contracting, it can be difficult to get personalised advice tailored to your specific needs.

On the other hand, home insurance policies in Spain can be complex and dense documents that require a level of understanding in order to interpret correctly. You may not understand all the terms and conditions, which can lead to misunderstandings about what is and is not covered.

It has been proven that humans prefer personal contact and the possibility to ask questions directly, as is the case in Meridional, where you know we like to take care of people.

Tip 3: Avoid Claiming Small Amounts

It is worth considering whether or not to make small claims. Sometimes small claims can result in higher premiums in subsequent years as you lose your no-claims discount.

It is always advisable to do the maths or consult with your insurance agent, in this case Meridional, so that they can propose the best option.

Tip 4: Pay in One Payment

Whenever possible, try to pay your home insurance in Spain in one lump sum rather than in instalments. Although paying monthly may seem more manageable, you usually end up paying more due to interest and surcharges.

Tip 5: Adjust your Franchise

By taking on more risk and increasing the excess on your home insurance policy, you can reduce your annual premiums. However, it is important to find the right balance so that you do not expose yourself to costs that you cannot cover in the event of an incident.

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Types of Home Insurance in Spain

In Spain, basically two types of home insurance are offered: contents insurance and building insurance.

In other words, home insurance can provide protection for both the structure and the contents of your property. Building insurance covers the physical structure of your home, such as walls, ceilings and electrical systems, among others.

On the other hand, contents insurance protects your personal belongings, ranging from furniture and household appliances to clothing and jewellery.

Depending on the policy you choose, it may also offer coverage for liability, legal expenses, theft, fire, water damage, natural disasters and more.

Home Contents Insurance

Home contents insurance protects your personal property in the event of theft or, if covered, even damage due to natural disasters. This contents cover is especially important if your property is located in a popular tourist area, such as the Costa del Sol, where there tends to be a higher risk of burglary.

It should also not be ruled out to include liability cover for accidents or injuries occurring on your property, especially useful if you ever plan to rent out your home.

Most home contents policies nowadays replace damaged or stolen objects with new ones. We can find the case of policies that still apply an indemnity policy, where the insurer calculates a depreciated value for the damaged or stolen objects.

In a previous article in our blog about home insurance in Spain, we have discussed in depth how companies compensate in case of theftBut more importantly, how you can protect yourself from theft.

Benefits of Home Contents Insurance

One of the main benefits of home contents insurance is third party liability cover in the event of an accident or injury to your property. This includes anyone who may suffer an accident on your property and potentially sue you for injuries or medical expenses.

Accidental damage to your personal property is also covered. Among the most common objects that can suffer damage are household appliances, especially televisions, refrigerators, computers, glass-ceramic hobs, etc.

Theft Protection

The main reason for taking out home contents insurance in Spain is to protect against burglary. Unfortunately, this type of crime is common, especially in the wealthier and more touristic areas of Spain where we are located.

It is also possible that we have decided to rent our property in Spain to tourists, which undoubtedly increases the risk of burglary. For this reason, we recommend taking out a holiday home insurance policy to protect you in case of rentals or, if no one is going to be living there for many months, some cover against squatting.

Legal Protection or Legal Coverage in household insurance in Spain

This type of coverage depends on each insurance company and the type of policy taken out. Even so, there are a series of guarantees that tend to be the most common and these are:

Civil and labour defence, provided that the insured has not acted in bad faith.
Third-party liability.
Consumer claims, both for supply contracts and for the sale and purchase of goods.
Expenses of legal proceedings, in which the insured person is involved.
Claims arising from works in the home or problems with the residents' association.

That is to say, among the basic guarantees of this insurance are criminal defence, consumer defence, the case of administrative infringements, and legal advice by telephone.

As extras, you can add access to consultations on labour law and civil law, such as separations or divorces, among other coverage. As you can see, it is possible to get a good and comprehensive home insurance policy in Spain.

Building Insurance

Building insurance protects the physical structure of the property. In case of serious structural damage, repairs are often very expensive (even reconstruction may be necessary), which is why this insurance is a real guarantee.

This includes elements such as walls, ceilings, doors, windows and heating, plumbing and electrical systems.

If you also have a mortgage or are going to take out one, you will usually be required to take out this type of insurance.

Rent and Home Insurance

As we have already anticipated, if you rent your property to tourists, the risk of theft or damage will increase. It is therefore advisable to find out about specific holiday home insurance policies that will provide you with the necessary cover in these circumstances.

In our blog we have a very complete article on holiday home insurance, where you will find all the information about the obligation to take out this insurance. if you are going to dedicate your home to this use and other advice on more appropriate coverages.

Exclusions in Home Insurance in Spain

When you take out an insurance policy, it is essential to understand what is covered and what is not. There are certain circumstances, such as renting out your property or leaving it unoccupied for an extended period of time, that can lead to exclusions.

If you give prior notice of these circumstances, you can try to resolve them in the coverages of the policy you are taking out.

In addition, some companies may require a minimum level of property security such as an alarm with a direct connection to the police.

Getting cheaper home insurance in Spain doesn't necessarily mean sacrificing essential protections. The smart thing to do is to research, compare and understand your policy conditions, and with Coseba and Meridional, you can already be on your way.

All you have to do is contact us and let us do the work for you, with the advantage that you can call us personally to resolve any doubts before taking out your home insurance.

Community of Owners Insurance

Included in the fees you pay to your homeowners' association is a community insurance. This type of insurance covers the exterior of the building, the common areas of the complex, water damage from the community's pipes and third party liability.

In another article of our blog we talked extensively about community insurance.

What does building insurance cover in Spain?

Building insurance in Spain covers the physical structure of the building and installations. This typically includes the roof, walls, doors, windows, kitchen installations, bathroom installations and built-in wardrobes.

In other words, building coverage refers to the coverage in your homeowner's policy that covers your home. This coverage protects the house you live in, plus any structures attached to it (the garage, for example), from the risks listed in your insurance policy.

On the other hand, items that are mobile, such as furniture and other personal belongings, will not be covered.

In short, the house and everything you can't take with you if you move would be protected by buildings insurance.

Another way of explaining what building cover covers and differentiating it from contents cover is to imagine that you were able to turn your house upside down (yes, with superhuman strength :)). Everything that doesn't fall down is building. What falls, content. Easy, isn't it?

To protect your personal belongings, then you should turn to contents insurance.

Main building coverages

Typically, the most common coverages taken out are those that cover damage caused by storms, vandalism, fire, flooding, landslides or subsidence.

When this happens, your insurance company helps you to cover the costs of repairing or, if necessary, rebuilding your home.

However, this can vary from policy to policy and from company to company. It is therefore essential to check in detail whether your policy protects against flooding or subsidence, or whether you need to pay an additional premium to obtain these coverages.

Some building policies also cover items outside the building itself, but which are on the plot, such as swimming pools, sheds, outbuildings, walls, fences, gates, garages, etc. It is important that you check this aspect according to your particular situation and read your policy carefully.

If you want, at Meridional we can tell you very clearly what the best options are depending on the characteristics of your property. We can really help you to get a good home insurance in Spain and at the best price available.

How much does buildings insurance cover?

Normally, the amount of building cover you can insure is the cost of rebuilding your home from scratch, not the current market value of your property. This amount is known as the sum insured and is the absolute maximum your insurer will pay, even if your home is completely destroyed.

To calculate the sum insured, it is more or less usual to take the approximate market value of your property and subtract a 30%. However, if you are in doubt, it is best to request a professional appraisal of the reconstruction costs from a Spanish court-appraiser.

For all these cases you can count on the support of our specialists in Meridional if necessary, because we will help you to be in contact with your insurance company or to find that independent appraiser.

Sinkhole or collapse insurance

One of the aspects commonly included in your buildings insurance is cover for subsidence. It is important that you check the conditions of your policy to ensure that this is not excluded, as subsidence has been a problem in some areas of the Costa del Sol.

Subsidence occurs when the ground beneath a property shifts or sinks. This situation often occurs when the foundations are not sufficiently robust, which has occurred in many cases where unscrupulous builders have taken shortcuts to save costs.

The most common sign of subsidence is the appearance of small cracks in the walls of the property, which gradually become larger as the property sinks deeper into the ground.

There is not always cause for alarm if this happens. It is common for small cracks to develop in the plaster of the walls as the new house settles, especially in relatively new dwellings.

Liability cover

One aspect of buildings insurance that is often overlooked is third-party liability cover. This type of cover is often included, although the level of protection varies significantly from policy to policy.

This additional insurance protects you in case someone suffers material or physical damage to your property and you are sued for it. This cover is especially important because, for example, if a visitor to your home in Spain suffers an accident, such as slipping and seriously injuring themselves (e.g. near the swimming pool), the medical claims and associated costs could be extremely high and could ruin your financial stability.

In conclusion, building insurance in Spain is an essential investment for any property owner. Not only does it protect you from potential reconstruction costs, but it also offers an additional layer of protection against potential liability claims.

It is crucial that you thoroughly review your policy to understand what is covered and what is not, and to adjust it according to your specific needs, and Meridional can help you.

Community Insurance and Holiday Dwelling Insurance

Community insurance, a subject we have covered in depth in another article in our blog, is fundamental when you buy a property in Spain. You should know what is covered by your community fees and what is not.

As part of a building or a housing development, there will be a community of neighbours with a board of directors, a president and a property manager (best of all, a registered one, as is the case of Meridional) in charge of the management of the property.

Their tasks include, among many others, the collection of fees from residents to secure the exterior of the building and maintain common areas such as the swimming pool and gardens.

Normally, all owners pay an annual or monthly fee to cover these costs.

It is imperative that each community has community insurance to protect residents in terms of building coverage and liability insurance.

Holiday home insurance

In terms of holiday home insurance, considering the associated risks, it is essential that you have adequate cover, as many situations could become complicated.

Insurance companies often consider vacation rental homes to be higher risk. The property may be vacant for long periods, increasing the possibility of theft, and renters may not care for the property as well as you would. They may also suffer personal injury and sue for damages.

It can happen that a tenant suffers injuries while renting your property in Spain and then sues you for medical expenses and compensation. This scenario, which is covered by civil liability cover, could easily happen, especially if there is a swimming pool in your home.

Finally, remember that having property insurance that specialises in holiday rental properties will provide cover even if your home is unoccupied for long periods of time.

In contrast, if you only have basic home contents and building insurance, you could find yourself without cover if your insurer discovers that your property is actually a second or holiday rental property, which could cost you thousands of euros.

Protecting yourself with home insurance in Spain

In short, protecting your property investment in Spain through adequate insurance is a necessity. The risks associated with owning property in Spain, whether permanent or holiday, are varied and potentially costly. Make sure you have the right cover to suit your needs and the characteristics of your property, and of course, leave nothing to chance.

It is necessary to insist

As a farewell, we would like to remind you that although home insurance may seem complicated and somewhat tedious, it is essential to protect your investment and your peace of mind.

Review your current policies to make sure you have adequate cover.
Consider obtaining specialised insurance if you own a holiday rental property.
Consult an insurance expert to better understand your needs and options.

Don't let price be the only factor guiding your decision. Remember that cheap can be expensive.
Inform yourself, compare and make conscious decisions based on your real needs.

Remember, when it comes to insurance, prevention is better than cure. The peace of mind that proper cover provides is worth every euro you pay for it. Don't wait until you are faced with a problem to take action, protect your assets and your family.

Legal Coverage in household insurance in Spain

It is important to check whether your home contents insurance policy covers legal expenses. This coverage can be very useful if you are facing labour, consumer, property or personal injury litigation.

Getting affordable home insurance in Spain does not necessarily mean sacrificing essential protections. The smart thing to do is to research, compare and understand your policy terms and conditions, and with Coseba and Meridional, you can already have that road done.

All you have to do is contact us and let us do the work for you, with the advantage that you can call us personally to resolve any doubts before taking out your home insurance.