Seguro de hogar is the Spanish term for home insurance. Here's what a standard policy bundles and the key terms to know.
Seguro de hogar is the Spanish term for home insurance. Here's what a standard policy bundles and the key terms to know.
If you're house-hunting or settling into a new home in Spain, "seguro de hogar" is a phrase you'll meet constantly — on bank paperwork, in estate-agent small talk, in the pile of documents at the notary. It simply means home insurance, but a Spanish policy is put together differently from one in the UK or Ireland, and it comes wrapped in Spanish terminology that's easy to nod along to without really understanding. This guide decodes seguro de hogar: what a standard policy bundles, the key terms every expat owner should know, and the quirks that genuinely differ from home.
Literally, "home insurance" — seguro (insurance) de hogar (of home). In practice it refers to the standard bundled household policy that almost every Spanish insurer sells. Rather than buying buildings and contents as separate products, you buy one package that combines several covers, then tailor it with sums insured and optional extras. Understanding the package means understanding its ingredients.
A standard seguro de hogar typically bundles:
Continente — buildings cover, the structure and fixed elements (walls, roof, fitted kitchen, pools, outbuildings).
Contenido — contents cover, your movable belongings.
Responsabilidad civil — public/personal liability, for harm your property causes to others.
Daños por agua — water damage, the most common claim in Spain.
Incendio — fire.
Robo — theft and burglary.
Fenómenos atmosféricos — storm and weather damage.
Asistencia hogar — 24-hour home assistance (plumber, electrician, locksmith).
Built into every policy is the small Consorcio surcharge that funds compensation for extraordinary events. Optional add-ons commonly include accidental damage, all-risks cover for valuables, swimming-pool and garden cover, legal expenses and solar-panel cover.
The amount you pay towards a claim before the insurer contributes. A higher franquicia lowers your premium but means more out of pocket per claim. Many basic Spanish policies actually have a zero or low excess on core covers — worth checking.
The most important term to understand. If you declare a sum insured below the true value, the insurer can reduce any claim by the same proportion. Under-declare your contents by 40% and a claim can be cut by 40%. This is why setting accurate buildings and contents values is so important — more in our buildings and contents guide.
The amount you've insured the buildings or contents for — the figure the average clause is measured against. Buildings at rebuild cost, contents at replacement value.
The state body that compensates extraordinary events — major floods, earthquakes, severe declared storms — instead of your insurer. Funded by the surcharge on your policy. See how claims work.
The loss adjuster an insurer appoints to assess a claim. Dealing with the perito in Spanish is one of the moments expats most value having English-speaking support.
Three differences matter most. First, the rebuild-cost basis for buildings, rather than insuring at market value. Second, the average clause, which is applied more routinely than UK owners expect. Third, the Consorcio system for catastrophes, which simply has no direct equivalent back home. Add the language barrier and it's easy to see why expats end up with cover they don't fully understand — and why we translate both the words and the system.
Your policy document (póliza) will list the covers (coberturas), the sums insured (sumas aseguradas), the excess (franquicia) and the exclusions (exclusiones). The two numbers to sanity-check are the buildings and contents sums insured — get those right and most of the policy looks after itself. If anything is unclear, ask; a policy you can't read is a policy you can't rely on. We go through it with you in English. For the complete overview, see home insurance in Spain.
General guidance only — not personal insurance advice. Cover, limits and exclusions vary by insurer and policy, so always check your policy terms. Last updated: May 2026.
It's simply 'home insurance' in Spanish — the standard bundled household policy combining buildings, contents, liability, water damage, fire, theft, storm and home assistance.
The excess — the amount you pay towards a claim before the insurer contributes. A higher franquicia lowers the premium; many basic Spanish policies have a low or zero excess on core covers.
Spain's average clause: declare a sum insured below the true value and the insurer can reduce any claim by the same proportion. Accurate sums insured avoid it.
The loss adjuster an insurer appoints to assess a claim. We deal with the perito in English on your behalf.
Buildings are insured at rebuild cost not market value, the average clause is applied routinely, and catastrophic events go to the state Consorcio rather than your insurer.
Tell us about your property and we'll recommend the right cover — in plain English, with no pressure.
