Business Insurance Claims

How to claim on a business policy in Spain

Business claims split into three very different types, and the right first move is different for each. Damage claims (fire, water, storm, theft, breakage, machinery breakdown) are about evidence and getting trading again. Liability claims are about what you say and do not say to the injured party. Claims-made covers — professional indemnity, directors & officers and cyber — are about notifying fast enough to keep the cover alive. Work out which one you have before you do anything else.

1. Make the premises safe and stop the loss spreading

Turn off water, gas or power where needed and get the building secured. Reasonable emergency costs to limit the loss are normally covered — keep every receipt. Photograph and video everything before you clear up: the damage, the cause, the stock, the plant, the point of entry. For a break-in, do not tidy until you have images of how the intruders got in.

2. File a denuncia for theft, vandalism or malicious damage

A police report is a condition of the claim, not a formality. File it with the Guardia Civil or Policia Nacional as soon as you can, list what was taken with model and serial numbers where you have them, and keep the reference — the insurer will ask for it before anything else moves.

3. Notify Generali within the deadline

The standard notification window under the Spanish Insurance Contract Act (Ley 50/1980) is 7 days unless your policy allows longer. Use the 24-hour claims line or MI GENERALI above, or call us and we will open the file and run it in English. Have the policy number, the date, and a factual description of what happened — facts only, no speculation about cause or fault at this stage.

4. The loss adjuster (perito)

Beyond minor amounts Generali appoints a perito who inspects, agrees cause and scope, and sets the settlement. Do not scrap damaged stock, plant or IT equipment until it has been seen, even if it is obviously beyond repair — disposal before inspection is one of the most common reasons a business claim gets cut back. Prepare a schedule of damaged items with values and any purchase records before the visit; it usually shortens the claim by weeks.

5. Business interruption — start the paperwork on day one

If your policy includes loss of profits (lucro cesante), the settlement is built from your own accounts, so gather them straight away: the last two or three years of filed accounts, monthly turnover figures, VAT returns (modelo 303), payroll, the order book and any bookings cancelled. Keep a running log of trading days lost and of any extra costs incurred to stay open — temporary premises, hired plant, overtime. Check the indemnity period in your schedule too; if it is 3 months and the rebuild is 9, that gap is worth knowing about now rather than later.

Third-party and liability claims — what not to do

If a customer, visitor, contractor or neighbour is injured or their property is damaged, be helpful and factual, but do not admit liability, apportion blame, or agree to pay anything, and do not sign a document you have not had translated. Doing so can prejudice the cover. Take names and contact details of witnesses, photograph the scene and any contributing condition (a wet floor, a missing sign), record the exact time, and pass the whole file to the insurer. Any letter, burofax or court papers you receive must be forwarded the day they arrive.

Cyber incidents

Treat a ransomware or data-breach incident as a claim from the first hour: isolate the affected systems but do not wipe them, preserve the logs, and call the insurer’s incident line before engaging your own IT contractor — most cyber wordings require the insurer’s appointed responders to be used. Remember the separate regulatory clock: a personal-data breach normally has to be reported to the AEPD within 72 hours of you becoming aware of it, which is independent of the insurance claim.

Documents you will usually need

• Policy number and the date of the incident
• Photographs and video of the damage and its cause
• The police denuncia (theft, vandalism, attempted break-in)
• Schedule of damaged stock, plant and contents with values and purchase records
• Repair quotes and invoices, plus emergency make-safe receipts
• For business interruption: filed accounts, monthly turnover, VAT returns, payroll, order book
• For liability: witness details, incident log, and any correspondence or legal papers received
• For cyber: incident timeline, system logs, and the AEPD notification if one was made

A note on underinsurance

If the sums insured for buildings, stock or plant are set below their true value, Spanish insurers can apply the regla proporcional and pay only the same proportion of the claim as you were insured for. Stock values in particular drift as a business grows, and building sums insured need to reflect rebuild cost rather than market value. It is worth a five-minute review each renewal — we are happy to do it with you.

Read the policy conditions (English)

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