Insurance in Spain: The Complete Expat Guide (2026)

How insurance works in Spain

Spanish insurance is governed by the Ley 50/1980 de Contrato de Seguro (the Insurance Contract Act) and supervised by the Dirección General de Seguros y Fondos de Pensiones (DGS), the state regulator. Every insurer and every registered intermediary holds a DGS number — ours is C0467B54657010, which you can verify on the DGS register. That regulation means your policy is backed by the same legal protections as any Spanish resident's.

You can buy insurance in Spain three ways: direct from an insurer's Spanish-language website or office; through a price comparador (aggregator); or through a mediador (broker or agent). For a newcomer who doesn't yet have fluent Spanish, a broker is usually the sensible choice — the policy wording, the claim, the renewal and the small print are all in Spanish, and a single mistranslation on a declaration can affect a claim. As an authorised exclusive Generali agent and Mediador Colegiado (registered insurance intermediary), we read the wording for you, match the right product to your situation and handle claims on your behalf, all in English.

Is insurance mandatory in Spain? What's legally required

Several types of insurance are compulsory by law in Spain. Driving or owning property without the required cover can mean fines, a vehicle being impounded, or being personally liable for the full cost of any damage.

• Car insurance (and all motor vehicles). At least third-party liability (seguro de responsabilidad civil obligatoria / terceros) is compulsory for every car, van, motorbike and motorhome registered and used in Spain — exactly as in the UK. See car insurance in Spain.
• Dog civil liability. Since the animal-welfare law Ley 7/2023, civil-liability insurance is compulsory for all dog owners in Spain (not just "dangerous" breeds) — see pet insurance in Spain.
• Community insurance. If you own an apartment in a comunidad de propietarios, the community must hold a multi-risk policy — required outright in some regions (e.g. Catalonia) and effectively required everywhere under the Ley de Propiedad Horizontal. See community insurance.
• Home insurance — if you have a Spanish mortgage. Buildings insurance is not a blanket legal requirement for owners, but every Spanish mortgage lender requires it (at minimum fire cover) for the life of the loan. See home insurance in Spain.
• Private health insurance — if you need a visa. Non-EU citizens applying for the Non-Lucrative Visa or Digital Nomad Visa must show full private health cover with no co-payments — see health, below.

The insurance you actually need as an expat in Spain

Beyond the legal minimum, here is the cover most British, Irish, Dutch and Northern-European expats arrange in their first weeks in Spain — with what it does and an indicative 2026 cost. Every link goes to a full page on that product.

Health insurance

Private medical insurance is the single most important policy for most expats — for visa compliance, for fast access to private specialists, and for English-speaking care. Generali's EXPAT Medcare and Salud plans give a full private hospital network (cuadro médico), typically with no co-payments and no waiting period on visa-compliant plans. Public healthcare (the SNS) is excellent but is accessed through residency, work contributions, a UK S1 for state pensioners, or the Convenio Especial after a year of residency — see the section below.

Home & house insurance

Buildings, contents and civil-liability cover for your Spanish home, via Generali Hogar. Mandatory with a mortgage, and strongly recommended otherwise — Spanish risks include DANA flooding, storms and, occasionally, squatters (okupas). There are dedicated options for holiday homes (long unoccupancy), landlords and tourist rentals (VUT).

Car insurance

From compulsory terceros up to fully comprehensive todo riesgo, with UK, Irish and Dutch no-claims bonuses accepted and English claims handling. If you arrive with a UK-registered car you can use temporary-import cover until you re-register on Spanish plates. See also van, motorbike and motorhome insurance.

Pet insurance & dog liability

The Ley 7/2023 civil-liability cover that every dog owner now needs, plus optional vet-fee and lost-pet cover via Generali Mascotas.

Travel insurance

Once you are resident in Spain you can no longer use a UK travel policy. A Spanish seguro de viaje covers trips from Spain — including back to the UK and Ireland — with single-trip and annual multi-trip options.

Life insurance

Term, whole-of-life and mortgage-protection cover via Generali Vida, written under Spanish law with the Spanish inheritance-tax (ISD) rules in mind — important for cross-border families.

Funeral insurance (decesos)

A uniquely Spanish product: decesos arranges the entire funeral as a service (not a cash payout), including repatriation, with no age limit and no medical questions — sparing your family the admin in a second language at the worst possible time.

Business, marine & specialist cover

If you work or run a business here, there is commercial & office, professional indemnity and trade cover; boat owners need marine insurance; and there are visa-compliant plans for the NLV and DNV. The full range is on our insurance services page.

What insurance costs in Spain in 2026

Premiums depend on your age, the property or vehicle, location, claims history and cover level, so treat these as indicative 2026 ranges, not quotes. The "mandatory?" column shows what the law requires.

Want side-by-side figures? Our comparison pages benchmark Generali against the main Spanish insurers: car, home, health, life, funeral and pet.

Health insurance, the public system & visa requirements

Spain's public health system (Sistema Nacional de Salud, SNS) is one of the best in Europe, but access depends on your status. You are covered publicly if you work and pay social security, if you are a UK state pensioner with an S1 form (registered with the INSS), or after one year of legal residency via the paid Convenio Especial scheme. Most other newcomers — and all non-EU visa applicants — need private health insurance for at least the first year.

For the Non-Lucrative Visa and Digital Nomad Visa, the rules are specific: the policy must be a Spanish-market plan with full cover, no co-payments and no waiting periods, and you'll need a DGS-stamped certificate for the application — usually issued within 24–48 hours. Private cover also buys you speed: a Generali specialist appointment or scan in days rather than the weeks a public lista de espera can run to. Our deeper guides cover public vs private healthcare in detail.

How insurance claims work in Spain

The single biggest practical difference for expats is the language of the claim. With a broker, you report the claim to us (966 461 625) and we open and manage it with the insurer on your behalf — you never have to navigate a Spanish call centre. A few Spain-specific points worth knowing:

• Motor claims use the convenio system. Your own insurer pays your repair directly (indemnización directa) and recovers a fixed amount from the at-fault insurer behind the scenes — explained in how car insurance claims work in Spain.
• Keep a European Accident Statement in the car. The parte amistoso is the standard EU accident form — see what to do after a car accident in Spain.
• Report deadlines matter. Most policies require you to notify a claim within 7 days, and theft within 24 hours (with a police denuncia).

Our full insurance claims guide covers each policy type.

How to choose insurance in Spain (and why an English-speaking broker helps)

For a Spanish national, a price comparador is fine. For an expat in the first years, the cheapest premium is rarely the best outcome — what matters is that the cover actually fits, the declaration is correct, and someone handles the claim in your language. A good DGS-registered broker:

• compares suitable products and explains the trade-offs in plain English;
• makes sure the declaration (and therefore the claim) is accurate — non-disclosure is the most common reason a claim is reduced;
• handles renewals, mid-term changes and claims for you; and
• costs you nothing extra — the broker is paid by the insurer, not by you.

We are authorised exclusive Generali agents based in Javea, serving expats across the whole of Spain — mostly online, by phone, email and WhatsApp — and registered with the Colegio de Mediadores de Seguros de Alicante. More about us on the about page.

Insurance across Spain — and a note on regions

We arrange cover for expats throughout Spain, not just the Costa Blanca — the Costa del Sol, the islands (Mallorca, Ibiza, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote), inland and the north. A few regional notes: coastal and island homes carry higher storm/flood weighting; the Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros (a state pool funded by a small levy on every policy) covers extraordinary catastrophe risks such as major floods and earthquakes; and visa, tax and community rules can vary by comunidad autónoma. If you are relocating, our moving to Spain guide walks through the wider picture.

Frequently Asked Questions: Insurance in Spain

Our insurance pages & expat guides

• Products: Health · Home · Car · Life · Funeral · Pet · Travel · Motorhome · Van · Motorbike · Marine · Community · Business
• Visas: Non-Lucrative Visa · Digital Nomad Visa
• Guides: Moving to Spain · Public vs Private Healthcare · How to claim · After a car accident · Motorhoming in Spain
• Compare: Car · Home · Health · Life · Funeral · Pet

This guide is general information, not personalised legal, tax or insurance advice. Spanish insurance, visa and tax rules change and vary by region — always confirm your specific cover and, where relevant, consult a qualified gestor or abogado. For advice on your situation contact Turner Insurance.