House insurance in Spain – Cheap or Expensive?
Turner Insurance News • June 1, 2018
House insurance in Spain tends to be somewhat cheaper than home insurance in countries like the UK. So the good news is that holiday home insurance in Spain won’t cost you a fortune.
When taking out home insurance in Spain, you can opt for buildings cover, contents cover, or both. Buildings cover insures the structure of your property, and all fixtures. If you buy with a mortgage, your lender will insist on buildings cover.
The building cover will be based on an insurable value for your property, which is not the same as the market value for your property (or what you paid for it). The building and fixtures are insured, not that land your property is built on, which explains the difference. Your insurance policy will be based on what it costs to rebuild your property, not what it would cost to buy it anew. To calculate this ‘rebuild’ value, insurers use standard tables of building costs per square metre. The higher the building specifications of your property, the higher the insurable value.
Contents cover insures all personal belongings that are not part of the structure or fixtures, so basically anything that isn’t nailed down or screwed in, like furniture, computers, artwork, and jewellery.
The cost of cover will depend upon well secured your property is. The stronger your security features such as doors, shutters, and alarms, the lower your premiums.
Most policies will also include a level of third party liability cover. Third party liability in Spain is usually low relative to other counties such as the UK. This is because awards for damages also tend to be much lower.
If you plan to rent out your holiday home to tourists, be sure you get appropriate insurance cover.
