The Seven Home Insurance Mistakes Every British Expat in Murcia Makes (And How to Fix Them)

You've sorted the NIE, registered with the Ayuntamiento, maybe even navigated the joy of Spanish bureaucracy to get your car registered. But have you actually looked at your home insurance policy? Really looked at it?

Most British expats in Murcia make the same insurance mistakes. Some are small. Some are expensive. All are avoidable.

Let's walk through the seven most common ones, shall we?

Mistake One: Assuming Your UK Policy Covers You

This is the big one. Shockingly common, and potentially catastrophic.

The hard truth: Your UK home insurance does not cover your property in Spain. Not even a little bit. Even if you're still paying for it (and why would you be?), it explicitly excludes properties outside the UK.

What You Need Instead

You need Spanish insurance, issued by a Spanish company, covering your Spanish property. There's no clever workaround, no way to extend your UK policy, no international rider that sorts it.

The fix is obvious: Get proper Spanish home insurance.

Here's the thing – it's usually cheaper than what you were paying in the UK anyway. Spanish insurance costs typically run 30% to 50% less than equivalent UK coverage, even accounting for the currency conversion.

Mistake Two: Not Understanding What "Continente" and "Contenido" Actually Mean

Right, this trips everyone up at first. Spanish insurance splits coverage into two distinct parts:

Continente (Buildings Insurance)

Covers the structure of your property:

• Walls, roof, floors

• Windows and doors

• Fitted kitchen and bathrooms

• Anything permanently attached to the building
  

Rule of thumb: If you wouldn't pack it when moving, it's continente.

Contenido (Contents Insurance)

Covers everything else:

• Furniture and electronics

• Clothes and jewellery

• Artwork and books

• Kitchen equipment

• Anything you own that's not attached to the building
  

You can buy them separately. Many people insure the building but skip contents insurance to save money. This is risky, but if you're genuinely on a tight budget, buildings insurance is the non-negotiable one.

The fix: Understand exactly what each part covers, and make a conscious decision about whether you need both. For most people, the answer is yes – contents insurance costs around €120 to €200 per year for typical coverage, and losing everything in a fire or flood would cost vastly more.

Mistake Three: Underinsuring Your Property

This happens more often than you'd think. People estimate what their property's worth, pick a coverage amount that seems about right, and move on.

The Problem with Underinsuring

If you underinsure, you won't get full payment if something goes wrong. Spanish insurance uses proportional compensation:

• Insure your €200,000 property for only €150,000

• You'll only receive 75% of any claim

• This applies regardless of the claim size
  

The Right Way to Calculate Coverage

The fix: Get a proper valuation. Not a market value for selling the property, but a rebuild value – what it would actually cost to reconstruct your home if it were completely destroyed.

Important numbers:

• Usually 10% to 20% higher than purchase price for older properties

• Can be lower for new builds

• Includes demolition and clearing costs
  

Your insurer can help with this. We certainly can. It's better to spend five minutes getting an accurate value than to find out during a claim that you're underinsured.

Mistake Four: Ignoring the Excess (Franquicia)

Every policy has an excess – the franquicia. It's the amount you pay towards any claim before insurance kicks in.

Standard Excess Ranges

Typical excesses in Spain:

• €150 to €500, depending on policy type

• Lower excesses = higher premiums

• Higher excesses = lower premiums
  

The Two Opposite Mistakes People Make

Mistake A: Choose low excesses and pay significantly more in annual premiums than they'd ever claim in small incidents.

Mistake B: Choose high excesses to save money, then struggle to afford the excess when something actually goes wrong.

The fix: Choose an excess you can comfortably afford to pay if needed, but don't go too low unless you have specific reasons. For most people, €300 to €400 hits the sweet spot – low enough to be manageable, high enough to meaningfully reduce your premium.

Mistake Five: Missing the Annual Renewal Terms

Spanish insurance policies typically auto-renew annually. That sounds convenient, and it is, but there's a catch: premium increases.

How Premiums Creep Up

Each year, your premium will likely increase by 3% to 5%, even if you've made no claims and nothing's changed. After a few years, you're paying significantly more than when you started.

UK policies work similarly, but there's a cultural difference in how people approach it:

• In the UK, most people shop around every year or two

• In Spain, many people stick with the same policy for decades

• Result: Premiums creep up without anyone noticing
  

The fix: Review your policy every two to three years. Get competitive quotes. You're not obliged to stay with your current insurer, and switching is straightforward. Just make sure the new policy starts the day after your old one expires – no gaps in coverage.

Mistake Six: Not Declaring All Property Features Accurately

This sounds obvious, but you'd be amazed how often it causes problems.

Common Undeclared Features

What people forget to mention:

• Swimming pools

• Home office equipment value

• Converted garages or outbuildings

• Solar panels or other energy systems

• High-value items like photography equipment

• Recent renovations or extensions
  

Why This Matters

Undeclared features can mean claims are denied or reduced:

• No pool declared = no liability coverage for pool accidents

• Underestimated contents = equipment not fully covered

• Unreported conversions = structural damage claims rejected
  

The fix: Be thorough when setting up your policy:

1. List everything properly

2. Take photos of valuables

3. Update your insurer when you make significant changes

4. Review your declaration annually
   

It takes ten minutes and could save you thousands.

Mistake Seven: Not Getting English-Speaking Support

Here's the uncomfortable truth: when things go wrong, you need to communicate clearly and quickly.

The Problem with Spanish-Only Insurers

Technical insurance language in Spanish, when you're already stressed about whatever's happened to your property, is nobody's idea of fun.

Many expats sign up with Spanish-only insurers because the premium's slightly cheaper. Then something happens:

• They need to make a claim

• Suddenly they're struggling with translation apps

• Worried they're not explaining things correctly

• Unsure if they understand what they're being told
  

The Real Cost of Language Barriers

The fix: Work with insurers who offer genuine English-speaking support. Not just someone who speaks a bit of English, but proper service where you can explain what's happened in your own words and trust you're being understood correctly.

Yes, English-speaking insurance sometimes costs 5% to 10% more. But when you're dealing with a €5,000 claim or a complex legal issue, that extra €30 a year is the best money you'll spend.

How Spanish Home Insurance Actually Works: The Basics Everyone Should Know

Let's cover the fundamentals quickly, because understanding the system helps you avoid all sorts of mistakes.

Named Perils vs All Risks

Spanish policies typically work differently from UK ones:

• UK policies: Often "all risks" with specific exclusions

• Spanish policies: Usually "named perils" – they cover specific listed things
  

This makes it crucial to actually read what's covered.

Standard Coverage Includes

Most Spanish home insurance policies cover:

• Fire and smoke damage

• Water damage (pipes, leaks)

• Theft and vandalism

• Storm and wind damage

• Glass breakage

• Liability for injuries on your property
  

Liability Coverage (Responsabilidad Civil)

Included in most policies and covers you if someone's injured on your property and you're found legally liable. This is important in Spain, where compensation claims for injuries can be substantial.

Legal Protection (Defensa Jurídica)

Often included and covers legal costs if you need to defend yourself in property-related disputes:

• Boundary disputes

• Issues with builders

• Problems with neighbours
  

What It Should Cost: Real Numbers

Let's talk pricing, because transparency seems to be in short supply in Spanish insurance.

Typical Costs for Murcia Properties

Two-bedroom apartment:

• Property value: €150,000

• Contents coverage: €30,000

• Annual cost: €220 to €350

• Includes: Buildings, contents, liability, legal protection
  

Three-bedroom villa with pool:

• Property value: €300,000

• Contents: €50,000

• Annual cost: €450 to €700
  

Price Factors

What increases your premium:

• Coastal location: +15%

• Swimming pool: +10% to 15%

• Holiday home (unoccupied): +15% to 30%
  

What decreases your premium:

• Gated community: -10%

• Security systems: -5% to 10%

• No claims history: -5% to 15%
  

If your quotes are significantly outside these ranges, either your property has unusual features, or it's worth getting additional quotes.

Making This Simple: What To Do Right Now

Pull out your current home insurance policy. Yes, right now. Read it. Properly.

Your Policy Checklist

Check these specific things:

✓ Is the coverage amount accurate for your property's rebuild value?

✓ Are all your property features correctly listed?

✓ Do you understand what's covered and what's not?

✓ Is your contents value realistic?

✓ What's your excess, and could you afford to pay it if needed?

✓ Does the policy auto-renew, and when?

✓ Have you reviewed it in the last two years?

If any of those answers make you uncomfortable, it's time to sort it out. Not next month, not when you remember. Now.

Working With Allianz: What's Different

We specialise in helping British, German, and Dutch expats in Murcia get proper home insurance without the usual headaches.

What Makes Us Different

Everything's in English:

• Pricing is transparent

• We actually explain what you're buying

• No hidden terms or surprise increases
  

Policies designed for expats:

• Not just standard Spanish insurance with English labels

• Cover that accounts for how you actually live

• Properties that sit empty for months

• Holiday homes being rented out

• Primary residences where owners are learning Spanish
  

Straightforward service:

• No auto-increases without reason

• No terms hidden in legal Spanish

• No three-day waits for email responses

• Actual English-speaking advisors who understand your questions
  

Get It Sorted

Home insurance isn't exciting. We know that. You know that. But getting it wrong is expensive, stressful, and entirely avoidable.

Take Action Today

If you've made any of these mistakes:

1. Call us, email us, or fill in the quote form

2. We'll review what you currently have

3. We'll explain what you actually need

4. We'll give you clear pricing for proper coverage

5. All in English, all straightforward, all sorted in a couple of days
   

Your home in Murcia deserves proper protection. Let's make sure it's got it.