Shop & Retail Insurance in Spain

Q: Is shoplifting covered?

No. Spanish policies cover robo (theft involving force, such as a broken lock or smashed window) and atraco (robbery with violence or intimidation), but not hurto — theft without force. Shoplifting and unexplained stock shortage found at inventory are excluded across the Spanish market, not just by one insurer. Break-ins, ram-raids, armed robbery and the damage they cause are covered.

Q: Is my shop window covered if it is broken?

Yes — glass (lunas) is standard on a Spanish shop policy and typically includes the shop window, doors, internal glazing, mirrors and illuminated signage, plus the cost of boarding up while a replacement is made. Check the limit if you have a large frontage or specialist glazing, and tell us about any window display valuables, which carry their own conditions.

Q: Does the policy pay while the shop is closed for repairs?

If loss of takings (pérdida de beneficios) is included, yes — a daily or monthly sum for the time an insured loss keeps you shut, up to the indemnity period chosen. It is optional on smaller policies and standard on full retail packages. Set the indemnity period against how long a refit would realistically take, not the best case.

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Cover for shops, boutiques, minimarkets, salons of trade and showrooms in Spain — stock, glass, robbery, till money, product liability and the takings you lose while the shutters are down.

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🛍️ Where this page sits: retail is a branch of commercial premises insurance. Serving food or drink as well? See bar & restaurant insurance. For the liability layer alone, see public liability in Spain.

Quick Answer — Shop & Retail Insurance in Spain (Turner Insurance)

Liability compulsory?Not by statute — but your lease requires it

Typical premiumFrom around €280/year

GlassShopfront cover as standard

TheftForced entry and armed robbery

Product liabilityIncluded for goods you sell

Answered by Turner Insurance Specialists — exclusive Generali agents in Spain since 2007, based in Javea (Alicante). Talk to a real adviser in English: 966 461 625.

Spanish Insurance Law: Shops & Retail — Key Facts, Limits & Exclusions

What is actually required of a retailer in Spain, what the lease adds on top, and the policy mechanics that decide whether a claim pays in full.

Legally required? Usually not. Contractually required? Almost always.

Ordinary retail is not on the list of activities for which Spanish law compels public liability insurance — that list, held in the Registro de Seguros Obligatorios at the Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros, covers healthcare, regulated professions, licensed venues and similar. The obligation on a shopkeeper comes from elsewhere and is just as binding:

Your lease. Commercial tenancies in Spain routinely require the tenant to hold public liability cover and produce the certificate before the keys change hands, and again at each renewal.
Shopping centres and market operators set their own minimum sums and often demand to be noted on the policy.
Suppliers and franchisors frequently require product liability cover of a stated amount as a condition of supply.

Underneath all of it sits Article 1902 of the Código Civil: whoever causes damage to another by fault or negligence must repair it. If you trade as an autónomo rather than through a company, that liability reaches your personal assets — which is the practical reason most sole traders insure regardless of what the lease says.

Product liability on what you sell

A retailer sits in the supply chain, and a customer injured by a defective product can bring a claim against the seller as well as the manufacturer. RC de productos is the module that responds. It matters most where you import, repackage, assemble or sell own-brand goods — in those cases you may be treated as the producer rather than merely the distributor. Keep supplier records and CE documentation: they are what allow the insurer to pass a claim back up the chain.

The two numbers that decide a stock claim

Sum insured vs. actual stock. Spanish policies apply proportional settlement (regla proporcional): if you insure €30,000 of stock and are found to be holding €60,000, a claim can be settled at half. Insure the peak, not the average — or take a stock-fluctuation clause.
Cash limits. Money in the till, in the safe and in transit to the bank each carry their own separate sub-limit, usually much lower than the contents figure. Check all three.

Standard exclusions

Shoplifting and unexplained stock shortage — theft without forced entry or violence is not covered. See the section below.
Fines and administrative sanctions — not insurable in Spain on any policy.
Goods left outside or on the pavement display, unless specifically declared.
Wear, tear and gradual deterioration, including damp and slow leaks.
Undeclared activity — adding a workshop, a café counter or online despatch changes the risk and must be told to the insurer.
Premises left unoccupied beyond the period stated in the conditions, typically 30 consecutive days, without notification.

Disclosure at inception is governed by Ley 50/1980, Article 10 — an inaccurate declaration of trade, turnover or stock value can reduce a settlement proportionally.

Shop & Retail Insurance in Spain

Shop insurance in Spain — seguro de comercio — is a combined policy covering the premises you trade from, the stock inside it, the money you take and your liability to the people who walk through the door. As authorised exclusive Generali agents we build it from the Generali commercial range around your trade, your stock levels and your opening pattern, produce the liability certificate your landlord or centre manager requires, and handle claims in English from start to finish.

Key Points

Public liability for customers, deliveries and passers-by
Product liability on the goods you sell
Stock at cost, with optional fluctuation and seasonal-peak cover
Shop-window and internal glass (lunas), including signage
Fire, water damage, storm and impact
Theft by forced entry, and robbery with violence
Cash in the till, in the safe and in transit to the bank
Tenant's improvements — the fit-out you paid for
Loss of takings while an insured loss keeps you shut
Legal defence (defensa jurídica) and 24-hour emergency assistance

What a Retail Policy Covers

Public liability — the customer who slips on a wet floor, the display that falls, the delivery driver injured at your door.
Product liability — injury or damage caused by goods you sold, imported or own-branded.
Buildings — if you own the unit rather than lease it.
Tenant's improvements (obras de reforma) — shopfitting, counters, lighting and flooring you installed at your own cost.
Contents and equipment — fixtures, fittings, tills, terminals, refrigeration and display units.
Stock — at cost price, with the option to raise the limit for seasonal peaks.
Glass — shop window, doors, internal glazing, mirrors and illuminated signage, including the cost of boarding up.
Fire, explosion, smoke, water damage, storm and impact — including damage caused to neighbouring units by water escaping from your installations.
Theft and robbery — forced entry to the premises, and robbery with violence during opening hours, including damage done by the thieves.
Money — separate limits for cash in the till, in a locked safe and in transit to the bank.
Loss of takings (pérdida de beneficios) — while an insured loss keeps the shop closed.
Legal defence and judicial bonds, plus 24-hour emergency assistance for a glazier, locksmith or plumber.

Theft, Robbery and the Shoplifting Gap

Spanish policies split theft into categories that do not map neatly onto English usage, and the distinction decides whether a claim pays:

Robo — theft involving force on the premises: a broken lock, a smashed window, a forced shutter. Covered as standard, along with the damage done getting in.
Atraco — robbery with violence or intimidation of you or your staff during opening hours. Covered, and normally extended to money being carried to the bank.
Hurto — theft without force. This is shoplifting, and it is excluded, as is unexplained stock shortage found at inventory.

That is not a quirk of one insurer — it is how the Spanish market is written, and no retail policy in Spain covers shoplifting. Retail shrinkage is a stock-control and security problem rather than an insurable one. What insurance does do is respond to the break-in, the ram-raid, the armed robbery and the damage they leave behind, and cover the cash separately from the goods.

Optional Extras

Stock fluctuation / seasonal peak — a higher limit for the run-up to Christmas or the summer season, avoiding proportional settlement.
Refrigerated stock — deterioration after a chiller, freezer or power failure, for food and pharmacy retail.
Higher cash limits — for the till, the safe and transit to the bank.
Goods in transit — stock moving between your premises or out to customers.
Equipment all-risks — tills, terminals and portable devices, including accidental damage.
Higher liability limits — where a centre, franchisor or supplier sets a minimum.
Cyber cover for card terminals, online sales and customer data — see cyber risk insurance in Spain.
Employers' liability and the convenio policy once you take on staff — see convenio (CLA) insurance.
Owner's own protection — if the shop is your livelihood, see the autónomo insurance package.

How to Get a Quote

Call or email us — ring 966 461 625 or email info@turnerinsurance.es. Our English-speaking team is available Monday to Friday, 09:30–15:00.
Have four figures ready — floor area, peak stock value at cost, the value of the fit-out you paid for, and how much cash you hold overnight. Those set most of the premium.
We set out the cover levels — as authorised Generali agents we present the options that match your trade and stock, and explain plainly what each excludes. No pressure, no obligation.
Your policy is set up — we arrange everything and send the certificate and English-language documents promptly, in the form your landlord or centre manager asks for.

Shop & Retail Cover Levels

Cover level	What is included	Best for
Liability only	Public and product liability with legal defence — the certificate a lease or centre requires	Market traders, concessions, low-stock services
Standard shop	Liability plus contents, stock, glass, fire, water damage, theft, cash and 24-hour assistance	Most high-street shops and boutiques
Full retail package	Everything above plus stock fluctuation, higher cash limits, equipment all-risks, loss of takings and employers' liability	High-stock, staffed or multi-site retail

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Approximate Shop & Retail Insurance Pricing

Annual premiums for retail premises in Spain, rented or owned:

Small shop (under 100m²)

from €280/yr

Public liability €600,000
Contents and stock
Shop-window glass
Theft with forced entry
Defensa jurídica

Frequently Asked Questions — Shop & Retail Insurance in Spain

The questions we hear most often from British, Irish and other international retailers trading on the Costa Blanca, the Costa del Sol and the islands.

Not by statute for ordinary retail — the compulsory-insurance register covers healthcare, regulated professions and licensed venues rather than shops. In practice it is required anyway: commercial leases almost always oblige the tenant to hold public liability and produce the certificate, shopping centres set their own minimums, and suppliers often require product liability as a condition of supply.

No. Spanish policies cover robo (theft involving force, such as a broken lock or smashed window) and atraco (robbery with violence or intimidation), but not hurto — theft without force. Shoplifting and unexplained stock shortage found at inventory are excluded across the Spanish market, not just by one insurer. Break-ins, ram-raids, armed robbery and the damage they cause are covered.

Declare your peak, not your average. Spanish policies apply proportional settlement (regla proporcional): if you insure €30,000 of stock but hold €60,000 at the time of a loss, the claim can be settled at half. If your stock swings seasonally, a stock-fluctuation clause raises the limit for the peak period at modest extra cost — usually cheaper than insuring the peak all year.

A small shop under 100m² typically starts from around €280 a year, mid-size retail from around €600, and larger or multi-site operations from around €1,500. The premium is driven by floor area, stock value, the trade itself, security measures and claims history. High-value stock such as jewellery or electronics is rated individually.

You can be. A customer injured by a defective product may bring a claim against the seller as well as the manufacturer, and the product liability module (RC de productos) responds. The exposure is greatest where you import, repackage, assemble or sell own-brand goods, because you may then be treated as the producer. Keep supplier records and CE documentation — they are what let the insurer pass a claim back up the chain.

Yes — glass (lunas) is standard on a Spanish shop policy and typically includes the shop window, doors, internal glazing, mirrors and illuminated signage, plus the cost of boarding up while a replacement is made. Check the limit if you have a large frontage or specialist glazing, and tell us about any window display valuables, which carry their own conditions.

There is no legal limit, but the policy sets one — and it sets three: cash in the till during opening hours, cash in a locked safe overnight, and cash in transit to the bank. Each has its own sub-limit, usually well below the contents figure, and the safe limit often depends on the safe's rating. If your takings regularly exceed the standard limits, they can be raised.

The landlord normally insures the building; you insure what you put in it. That means contents and equipment, stock, and the fit-out you paid for — tenant's improvements, or obras de reforma — which is the item most often left off a retail policy and can be the largest single figure after a fire. Your lease will also require public liability; we issue the certificate in the wording landlords ask for.

If loss of takings (pérdida de beneficios) is included, yes — a daily or monthly sum for the time an insured loss keeps you shut, up to the indemnity period chosen. It is optional on smaller policies and standard on full retail packages. Set the indemnity period against how long a refit would realistically take, not the best case.

Tell us, because it changes the risk in two ways. Goods leaving the premises need goods-in-transit cover rather than shop contents cover, and card data, the website and customer records are a separate exposure covered by cyber insurance rather than by the shop policy. Online trading is not excluded, but it does need declaring — an undeclared change of activity is a standard exclusion.

Tell the insurer. Most Spanish commercial policies restrict cover, particularly for theft and water damage, once premises are left unoccupied beyond a stated period — often 30 consecutive days. Seasonal closure is common on the coast and is normally accommodated without difficulty, but only if it is declared in advance rather than discovered at claim time.

Call us on 966 461 625 and we handle it in English from first notification to settlement. Report promptly — Ley 50/1980 sets a seven-day notification deadline for most claims — and for a break-in file the denuncia with the police, as the insurer will ask for it. Our business insurance claims guide sets out the process step by step.

More questions? Contact us for free English-speaking advice — or call 966 461 625.

Sources & References

This page references the following official Spanish regulatory and legal sources. These are the authoritative bodies and laws governing insurance products in Spain:

Dirección General de Seguros y Fondos de Pensiones (DGS) — Spanish insurance regulator. Confirms registration of insurance intermediaries (Andrew Turner: Registry C0467B54657010) and authorises all insurance products distributed in Spain.
Ley 50/1980 — Ley de Contrato de Seguro (BOE) — Spanish Insurance Contract Law. Governs disclosure at inception (Art. 10), proportional settlement, claim notification deadlines and renewal rights (Art. 22).
Código Civil, Article 1902 (BOE) — the general rule of civil liability in Spain: whoever causes damage to another by fault or negligence is obliged to repair it.
Registro de Seguros Obligatorios — the Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros register of every compulsory insurance line in Spain, searchable by activity.

Insure Your Shop in Spain

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See also our commercial & office insurance page, bar & restaurant insurance, salon & gym insurance and the autónomo insurance package if you run the shop yourself.

🔗 Need to make a claim? See our business insurance claims guide → — or call 966 461 625 and we will guide you through it in English.

Cancellation rights. Annual contracts auto-renew under Ley 50/1980 Article 22. Cancellation requires at least one month's written notice before renewal.

📝 How to claim 📄 Read the policy conditions