Buildings
- Fire, storm and water
- Burglary damage
- Outbuildings and swimming pool
Insuring a holiday home in Spain
Spain deals with flooding, earthquake and exceptional storm through a national compensation scheme, and when it pays out that scheme looks unforgivingly at the sum insured you declared yourself.
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In brief
If you take out fire insurance in Spain, the premium automatically includes a levy for the national scheme for extraordinary risks. That scheme pays for damage from flooding, earthquake, tidal wave, exceptional storm and a few other events. You do not have to take out a separate policy for it and you cannot opt out of it either: it is included in every current home policy.
The sting is in the sum insured. The scheme pays up to the amounts stated in your own policy. If you have declared the rebuild value too low, that underinsurance feeds through into the payment from the disaster scheme. For a property insured years ago and not index-linked since, that is the biggest risk in the whole file.
In reality this means keeping the buildings and contents sums up to date, drawing the distinction between building and contents properly, and, with an apartment, knowing what the joint policy already covers. See also Portugal and Italy, where the same peril is dealt with in a completely different way.
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Holiday home in Spain: what is covered?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
Home contents
Furniture and equipment you leave there permanently.
- Separate sum insured
- Theft while the property is unoccupied
- Lower sub-limit
Liability
Your liability for the building and towards tenants.
- A part of the facade coming loose
- Injury at the swimming pool
- Particularly relevant when letting
What is covered
| Situation | Covered |
|---|---|
| Fire or storm damage to the home | Yes |
| Water damage while the property is occupied | Yes |
| Water damage during a long period of vacancy | No |
| Damage caused by a tenant | Sometimes |
| Theft of your home contents while the property is let | Sometimes |
| Deferred maintenance and frost damage | No |
This overview is general in nature and is not personal advice. What is actually covered, including exclusions, limits and the excess, is set out in the policy conditions and the insurance card (verzekeringskaart) of the insurer; you receive both before you take out cover. Taking out cover without advice? Then read what execution only means for you.
What does your premium depend on?
- Current rebuild value and contents sum. Determines not only the premium but also the payment from the disaster scheme.
- Location: coast, ravine or plain. Drainage areas and dry riverbeds carry an increased risk in heavy rain.
- Apartment, terraced house or villa. In an urbanisation the joint policy already covers part of the building.
- Swimming pool and outdoor facilities. A private swimming pool calls for liability cover and a separate declaration.
- Security: grilles, alarm and supervision. Theft cover depends on the security fitted and actually used.
- Holiday letting and its registration. Letting to guests is commercial use and changes acceptance and premium.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
How we arrange it
- You request a quoteWe take stock of your situation, your risk and your wishes.
- We compareseveral insurers, on premium as well as conditions.
- You receive a proposalWith an explanation of the differences and the exclusions.
- We arrange the switchIncluding cancellation, so there is no gap in cover.
Why arrange it through Finass Verzekert?
We look at the terms as well as the premium, and stay your point of contact when there is a claim.
Independent
We are not tied to one insurer and compare on the basis of an objective analysis of several companies.
One fixed adviser
You call or email someone who knows your file. No menu options, no changing call centres.
Switching without hassle
We cancel your old policy and align the start date, so you are never a day without cover.
Help with claims
We report the claim and monitor how it is handled. In urgent cases you can reach us on the emergency line.
9.5New policy
9.8Claims handling
Customers rate our service on four aspects: personal service, service delivery, availability and the outcome. The reviews are collected and published by NH1816 and come from customers who have actually taken out a policy with Finass Advies B.V. or reported a claim.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
The compensation scheme follows your own sum insured
The payment for flooding or earthquake is calculated on the basis of the amounts in your current policy. If the building is on the policy for an outdated amount, you get proportionally less back. Have the rebuild value and the contents sum reviewed periodically, certainly after building work or a new kitchen. A policy without index-linking quietly becomes underinsurance over the years.
What the scheme does and does not handle
Extraordinary events such as flooding, earthquake and exceptional storm run through the scheme. Ordinary losses stay with your own insurer: fire, burglary, escape of water and broken glass. That distinction determines who you report to and what time limit applies. Rainwater coming in through a poorly draining roof terrace or a blocked outlet is not an extraordinary event but maintenance, and so falls outside both routes.
Comunidad de propietarios: the building versus your own part
In an urbanisation or apartment complex the association has a joint policy for the structure, the facades, the roof, the communal swimming pools and the lifts. Your own insurance covers the finishes, the fittings and your liability. Ask for the joint policy: things often go wrong with a leak from a communal pipe, where both insurers point at each other.
What is not reimbursed
Outside the cover are: water damage during a long period of vacancy where the stopcock had not been turned off, gradual damage from damp, salt and sunlight to window frames and shutters, and theft without signs of forced entry where the prescribed grilles or the alarm were not used. If you let to tourists without reporting it, the duty of disclosure comes into play, in a Dutch policy Articles 7:928 and 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code.
Letting is commercial use
If you let through a platform, say so. Without notification, damage during the letting period falls outside the cover.
A Dutch policy or a local policy
For most destinations you can choose. A Dutch policy means Dutch conditions, Dutch law and claims handling in Dutch: worth a great deal in the event of a large claim in a country whose language you do not speak. A local policy sometimes fits regional natural hazards better.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Do I have to insure flooding separately in Spain?
No. Flooding, earthquake and exceptional storm run through the national scheme for extraordinary risks, for which every current home policy includes a levy. You cannot opt out of it and you do not have to do anything extra. Your underlying policy must be in force, though, and the sums insured must be right.
Why does the sum insured matter so much?
Because the compensation scheme pays up to the amounts stated in your own policy. If the building was insured years ago for too low an amount and never index-linked, that underinsurance feeds through into the payment after a flood or a tremor. Have the rebuild value reviewed after building work and at every renewal.
Who pays for a leak from a communal pipe?
In principle the owners' association's policy, because the pipe forms part of the communal parts. You report the damage to your own finishes and contents to your own insurer. Ask for the joint policy so that you know where the boundary lies, and photograph the situation before anything is stripped out or dried.
Is rainwater coming in from my roof terrace covered?
Usually not. Water that comes in because an outlet is blocked or the terrace drains poorly is regarded as a maintenance matter and not as an extraordinary event. Only where an event is officially designated as extraordinary does the disaster scheme come into play. Keep outlets and roof edges clear and keep the evidence of that maintenance.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
- Holiday home insuranceThe main page
- Insuring a holiday home in PortugalSecond home, Portugal, vacancy and letting
- Insuring a holiday home in BelgiumSecond home, Belgium, vacancy and letting
- Insuring a holiday home in FranceSecond home, France, vacancy and letting
- Insuring a holiday home in GermanySecond home, Germany, vacancy and letting
- Insuring a holiday home in LuxembourgSecond home, Luxembourg, vacancy and letting
- Insuring a holiday home in IrelandSecond home, Ireland, vacancy and letting
- Insuring a holiday home in ItalySecond home, Italy, vacancy and letting
- Insuring a holiday home in MonacoSecond home, Monaco, vacancy and letting
Read more
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About our service
Finass Verzekert is a trading name of Finass Advies B.V. We advise on and arrange non-life insurance on the basis of an objective analysis of several insurers, and receive commission for this from the insurer, which is included in the premium. You pay no separate advice fee. Before you take out cover, we establish your wishes and needs.
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This page was compiled by Finass Verzekert (LinkedIn). Last updated on .
The information on this page is general in nature and is not personal advice.