Specialist Insurance to Protect Your Spanish Holiday Home

Cover is split into two elements: buildings insurance which covers repairing or rebuilding the structure, and contents insurance which covers damaged or stolen items within the holiday home. These can either be bought separately or combined into one policy.

Buildings insurance covers the main structure of your Spanish holiday home and its permanent fixtures and fittings, such as the roof, walls, floors, ceilings, fitted kitchen or bathrooms. Domestic outbuildings, garages, domestic fixed fuel oil tanks, swimming pools, tennis courts, drives, patios and terraces, walls, gates and fences should be covered too. These tend to be covered against the cost of repairs or rebuilding following loss or damage caused by earthquake, fire, storm, flood, escape of water and theft.

Contents insurance covers the general contents of your holiday home in Spain such as furniture, furnishings and electrical equipment. Policies cover your contents in the event of fire, storm, flood, or theft.

Although policies offered by insurance companies in Spain can be cheaper, the cover tends to be much more limited than what we are used to in the UK. Therefore, a small saving could prove costly in the event of a claim if something you took for granted as being covered, isn't.

Unless you are fluent in Spanish it can be difficult to navigate complex insurance documents in another language. Dealing with Spanish claims handlers and loss adjusters who might not speak fluent English can also be complicated.

In the UK, disputes with insurers are dealt with by the Financial Ombudsman Service. Complaining in Spain can be a frustratingly bureaucratic process.

There are many reasons to choose a UK-based insurer over a Spanish one.

Most people think they should insure for the current market value of their holiday home, this is not the case. The buildings sum insured needs to cover the cost of rebuilding your house in Spain. The rebuild value is the full cost of reconstruction of the building(s) in their present form, including any associated costs, such as removal of debris, architectural and other professional services. This amount must include all outbuildings, barns, domestic oil & gas pipes, domestic oil fuel tanks, swimming pools, tennis courts, drives, patios, terraces, walls, gates and fences. The price of the land should be excluded.

To calculate the contents sum insured, you should work out how much it would cost to replace your contents on a new for old basis at today's prices. As a rule of thumb when deciding what are contents, include everything you would take with you if you moved home.

Calculating the rebuilding cost of a Spanish house can be difficult. To get an accurate figure a qualified surveyor should be appointed to assess the amount that a property should be insured for. Your lawyer, vendor or builder may also advise on the rebuild cost, but a surveyor is the most accurate. Alternatively, if you’ve had a recent survey on the property there may be a rebuild figure listed for insurance purposes.

If your Spanish holiday home is part of a complex or apartment block, your condominium fees may include community buildings insurance. Each policy differs, but generally, this cover is limited to common elements of the building and urbanisation such as walkways, pipes, windows and the basic rebuilding of the property.

You may find that (unlike UK policies) community buildings insurance does not cover fixtures and fittings, such as bathrooms and kitchens, within individual apartments.

To avoid such problems you should check what your community policy covers before you decide you do not need buildings insurance. It is recommended to take out your own buildings insurance policy for any perils that may not be covered by the community insurance.

You are covered whether you use your holiday home yourself, let to friends and family or rent it as a commercial holiday let. The specialist cover for holiday letting includes employers’ and public liability insurance, damage by guests or pets, theft by guests, loss of rent and alternative accommodation costs.

There are many questions to ask your insurer with regards to making a claim. Will your insurer be capable of sorting out a claim quickly and efficiently when something goes wrong, given that you are in the UK and hundreds of miles from your property in Spain? Will they appoint English-speaking loss adjusters?

Understanding exactly what a policy covers in the event of a claim can be a challenge, even when it's written in English. If you choose a Spanish insurer, are you capable of filling out claims forms and discussing your claim in Spanish?

When you insure with Schofields everything is dealt with in English and an International team of loss adjustors help deal with claims.

No, you must reside in the UK permanently and your Spanish property must be a second home.