If your car is new or fairly new then you will probably want to consider a car insurance in Spain that has a complete package of protections. Fully comprehensive car insurance in Spain gives you added peace of mind when insuring your vehicle. These types of insurance policy cover your third party obligations and also protect your vehicle, even when the incident is your fault. Fully comprehensive insurance policies also include fire and theft cover.

With a fully comprehensive car insurance in Spain there are a lot of options. For example, you can choose the excess you are prepared to pay. The excess is the amount you agree to pay towards any damages caused to your vehicle if the incident is your fault or the person that damages your car is unknown (vandalism for example).

For example, if you ran into the back of another vehicle it will almost certainly be deemed your fault. With a fully comprehensive policy in Spain the insurer pays to repair the other party’s vehicle. They will also pay for the damage to your car if the cost of the repairs to your vehicle. You will just be liable for the amount of the excess.

 

For new cars, you can often opt for a policy that has no excess. The premiums you pay for the fully comprehensive car insurance in Spain will reduce if you choose to increase the amount of excess. Clearly, if an accident was not your fault then your insurance company will claim the damages from the other driver’s insurance company. In that case, there would be no excess for you to pay.

Fully comprehensive insurance in Spain on older vehicles

Some insurance companies in Spain are reluctant to provide fully comprehensive car insurance in Spain for vehicles over ten years old. It is still available but the number of insurers that offer it is limited. You need to think about how much an insurer would pay out for a vehicle that is getting older. Would the premium for fully comprehensive still be good value?

What else can be included in a fully comprehensive policy?

The cheapest cover available is third party car insurance in Spain. This is the legal minimum. As the name suggests this protects a third party in the event of a claim. For example, if you run into the back of another vehicle and cause damage to that person’s vehicle. This type of policy covers your legal responsibilities to the other parties. Damage to your own vehicle is not covered.

In addition, this type of basic car insurance in Spain does not protect you if fire destroys your vehicle. Nor is it protected if someone steals it.

The next step up from this type of cover is third party, fire and theft. This provides you with the legal minimum of cover plus the addition of protecting your vehicle in the event of a fire. It will also cover you if it is stolen.

An additional cover is availble to this called total loss. So it is possible to buy a policy called third party, fire, theft and total loss. The added benefit is that in the event that the vehicle is written-off by the insurance company they will make a payment to the insured.

What else can be included in a third party / third party fire and theft policy?

Foreign registered vehicles will need to be imported properly and transferred onto Spanish plates. Depending on whether you are a resident or not the time you have to do this differs. This link will show you some basic information on importing a car to Spain.

It is possible to insure your foreign registered car in Spain while the authorities process your paperwork.

With UK plated cars you can obtain a full range of covers including third party, third party fire and theft and fully comprehensive cover.

For vehicles from other nations you can obtain a quote for third party cover.

You can insure an EU foreign plated car for up to 3 months or Non-EU cars for up to 6 months.

It is necessary to show the insurer that the process of re-registering your car is underway. They will usually require the following documents:

  • A copy of the vehicle documentation
  • Photos of the vehicle
  • A copy of the vehicle owner’s identification
  • A Spanish address

Many people have classic or historical vehicles in Spain. Finding the right insurance can sometimes prove difficult. Here at carInsuranceSpain.com we have a number of providers.

Usually these types of vehicles are at least twenty years old. Some providers offer a discount if you insure more than one classic or historical vehicle with them.

Most companies offer third party insurance or third party fire and theft. Some will also include total loss if the vehicle is detroyed in a fire, for example, or as a reuslt of theft. Finally, there are companies that offer a fully comprehenisve insurance on your classic car in Spain.

For a fully comprehensive cover the company will want to see:

  1. Recent photos of the vehicle
  2. The log book /permiso de ciruclacion and ficha tecnica and
  3. May in some cases require a valuation from a respectable classic car club.

Often the insurance companies will limit the amount of kilometres the car can be driven in a year on this type of policy.

When you contract a fully comprehensive insurance policy in Spain you decide on the amount of excess you will pay. This is your contribution in the event of a claim being your fault or where the perpetrator of the damage to your car is unknown. For example, if the car is vandalised and no one witnessed it. Most insurance companies insist on you accepting some form of excess in the policy. Although, with a brand new car it is possible to request a fully comprehensive policy with zero excess.

In the event of a claim where you are at fault then instead of just looking after the damages to a third party the insurance company will also pay for the cost of repairs to your vehicle. They will deduct the excess you agreed when you took the policy out. For example, if you have a fully comprehensive insurance policy in Spain and with a 300 euro excess then you have to pay the first 300 euros of damage to your car in the event the accident was your fault. If the damages were 700 euros then you would pay 300 euros and the insurance company the remaining 400 euros.

Clearly, the higher the excess you are prepared to pay then the lower the insurance premium. There is not normally an excess on windscreen replacement.

Similar to most countries Spanish insurance operate a no claims bonus scheme. When you come to Spain a good number of insurance companies will take into account your foreign no claims bonus. This can significantly reduce the annual premium. 

If you already have car insurance in Spain and are looking at alternative providers then you may be asked about your no claims bonus. With the majority of larger insurers they have an online databse to check the no claims bonus. You will need the following information:

  1. The name of the current insurance provider
  2. the registration plate of the vehcile you currently have insured with that company and
  3. the last five digits of the existing policy number.

Some form of accident and breakdown recovery service is included as standard in most car insurance policies in Spain these days and is well organised. However, the cover included automatically can vary significantly from company to company. Make sure you know what you are getting because it probably will not cost much to upgrade and can avoid a real headache later.

Read our article on accident and breakdown cover in Spain for detailed information.

Courtesy car after and accident

Depending on the insurance company, the provision of a replacement or courtesy vehicle could be available from the first day the car enters the repair workshop and where the car repairs will take longer than 24 hours.

The length of cover will depend on the insurance company. Some provide a car for a couple of weeks. Others for up to 35 days consecutive days in the event that the car is under repair.

The type of vehicle provided for the period will vary also from company to company but generally, you will receive a fairly standard or small car. The car provided under the insurance is to help you get-about, to get to work, pick the children up from school and it not intended to be a like for like replacement for your actual car.

You can of course ask the hire car company, which provide the replacement vehicle, if they can upgrade you. Any upgrade will be subject to agreement with the hire car company and at your expense.

Courtesy car in the event of a breakdown

Some car insurance companies in Spain will also provide a courtesy car if your vehicle has to go into a garage for repair. Even if it is not related to an insurance claim. Whilst we are all responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of our vehicles this service can be useful for the unexpected mechanical fault.

Your car insurance in Spain will state that you have to wait until your car has been in the garage for a minimum time. This could be from just one day to seven days, depending on the Spanish insurance company After this time they will provide a courtesy car if it was included in the policy.

Again, depending on the company the length of time they will provide a courtesy car will vary. You should ask when contracting the Spanish car insurance policy.

Courtesy car after fire or theft of your vehicle

Your car insurance in Spain may also include a provision for a courtesy vehicle in the event it has been stolen or it is damaged because of attempted theft with violence.

Some companies only provide a courtesy car on these occasions if the car is under a certain age.

If life without the car is going to be inconvenient then your car insurance in Spain should include some kind of replacement vehicle cover. Ask the questions to make sure you know in what circumstances a courtesy car will be available. make sure you udnerstand when it will not, before you select the insurance policy.

Car insurance Spain can include the added protection of personal accident cover for the driver and/or passengers. Some companies include an amount as standard. Others will allow you to pick and choose the level of cover you want to contract.

Personal accident cover for passengers

Accidental death as a result of a traffic accident or as a result of the injuries sustained from that accident. This could include the immediate release of some of the funds to help the family with the expenses incurred as a result of the death.

The cover could also include Accidental permanent disability. This element of the insurance will provide some financial respite in the event of the loss of a limb or an accident resulting in the permanent disability of a limb or organ.

The amount paid out depends on the type of disability suffered and whether it is a total permanent disability or partial.

Health care expenses may also be included in your car insurance in Spain.

Personal accident cover for the driver

If the driver of the vehicle was to pass away as a result of the accident then with this cover the car insurance company in Spain would provide the contracted lump sum in case of death to the heirs of the driver.

In addition, the cover may include a monthly indemnity amount over an agreed period of months or years that is also paid to the heirs.

A similar lump sum could be included in the car insurance in Spain for permanent and total disability of the driver as a result of a road traffic accident. Again there may also be an annuity over an agreed period whereby a monthly sum is also made to the injured party.

This is usually included in all car insurance policies in Spain except for the most basic cover. If you were to get a chipped windscreen or a crack appeared, then with this cover you can request a repair or replacement windscreen if necessary. These days you can call in to one of the many auto glass repair centres throughout Spain directly. Often there is no need to contact your broker or insurance company first. The windscreen repair workshop will contact the insurance company giving your vehicle details and will obtain an agreement to repair or replace your windscreen.