Insurance and the Newly
Arrived Resident
By John Knight
Having lived here for over forty years I have got somewhat used to the way things are done locally – for better or for worse. It must be difficult for newcomers to adjust to Spain – they are used to the Spain of the brief holiday: sun, sand, and sangria; late nights and tourist traps. But having decided to change their northern European environment for the more relaxed and welcoming Spanish Costas, they have to remember that attitudes to banking, insurance, officialdom, taxation, legalities etc. are somewhat different here.
But once you have taken the plunge, sold your home of the last twenty years or more, brought the dog and driven across the wilds of France and Spain to reach your home in the sun, sooner or later you have to face reality and get down to a few chores.
Having bought a flat or villa, you will already have come across banking, the Notary Public and that marvellous document: your escritura. You have probably made arrangements for your pension and investments to be maximised with careful advice from tax planners, accountants and advisors. And the time will come for you to reorganise your motor insurance: your green card will run out and it will be time to make local arrangements for insurance. If you have arrived by public transport you will probably buy a new or second-hand car here in Spain – much less hassle and the steering wheel is on the correct side of the car!
If you are used to arranging your insurance by telephone or on the web in your home country, you may feel that you would like to do the same here, but there are many reputable agents and brokers in and around the Costas should you prefer to deal with real people. Having been an agent for Royal Insurance here in Spain for sixteen years before becoming a broker some twenty years ago, I have found that clients prefer to have someone to discuss their insurance with before taking the plunge.
Insuring a Spanish registered car is easy of course – all insurance companies here are geared to doing this. However, where expatriates are concerned there are specialist policies with certain companies that make allowance for the lower risk presented by the expatriate with a corresponding consideration in the premium. If you have kept your foreign registered car here prior to disposing of it or re-registering it in Spain, most local companies will not be able to insure it but these specialist companies mentioned above, along with one or two mainstream companies, will be able to insure your non-Spanish registered vehicle.
An important thing to bear in mind is that although motor insurance is usually the new resident’s first insurance concern, other requirements will quickly follow. Private medical insurance taken out abroad might not be valid in Spain, and anyway should be checked. There are many different schemes to suit different budgets, but medical insurance does seem to get more expensive year on year and needless to say, it also gets more expensive as we get older! A chat with your local broker may well help you save money in this direction.
A growing number of newcomers to Spain have come here to set up businesses – most of them are young enough to have young families with them so that medical insurance is even more important for them. So, of course, is adequately insuring their business where hazards like loss of profits, third party liability, floating stock have to be taken into consideration.
Your home and its contents will need to be insured, although if you live in a flat the community of co-proprietors may well have adequate insurance cover on the building itself. Always make sure you are insured for the full value of your home and/or possessions, as under-insurance is the most frequent cause of disappointment in claims settlement. Another aspect of home insurance that the Northern European might take for granted is “All Risks” cover on items of jewellery or cameras. Companies in Spain do not generally cover this concept – here again your broker will be able to find a solution for you.
If you are involved in sporting activities, in particular golf and sailing, there are tailor-made policies covering your needs. And when you go on holiday you will probably take care to subscribe to a holiday insurance to protect your investment.
From all the above you will see that the average newcomer family will need to look in to its insurance affairs in several different areas and the most trouble free way of doing this is to keep it all under one roof and deal with a broker who not only deals with different branches of insurance but who also deals with different companies and can help you select the right cover for your particular needs.
John Knight is the founder of Knight Insurance Brokers S.A. the leading expatriate insurance specialist on the Spanish Costas with offices in Malaga, Almerķa, Murcia and Alicante.
Enquiries should be addressed to
info@knightinsurance.net
or
info@knight-insurance.com
or telephone 902 28 28 20.
Ten Alps Communications Ltd t/a Sovereign Publications
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2008 Sovereign Publications