F.A.Q.

In all likelihood, you already know it because you have found the insurance papers at his home. If this is the case, and it’s certainly the most common occurrence, contact the insurer directly and, if your name appears as a beneficiary, you will receive the compensation foreseen in a few days.

If you cannot find any policies or simply don’t know, you can enquire at the Register of Death Cover Insurance Contracts. It is a public register, answerable to the Ministry of Justice, to which the insurance industry provides all the information.

If you have to deal with an inheritance, the notary public in charge will consult with the Register on line.

Of course, to be able to save, it is necessary to have disposable income – something quite complicated for most of our readers. We do not have any “get rich quick” formulae, but we can offer a stable savings alternative that will let you start saving, without having to be rich first.

When you think of insurance, don’t focus solely on who repairs your car or fixes the broken windows in your home. Not even on the guaranteed lump sum in the event of a death. Insurance is also an effective financial agent capable of channelling your money to achieve good returns and provide you with a path towards savings without nasty surprises and with tax breaks.

Insurance is also the ideal savings formula for families as it allows small sums of money to be put aside every month, has formulae to provide liquidity if you ever need the money and, unlike most other products, your money is not running any risks or if it is then these are tightly controlled.

Ask your insurer or your insurance broker about the investment products offered by insurance firms.

If the vehicle is going to be driven, albeit occasionally, by more than one person, then all the possible drivers must be listed on the policy or, if not all, then the one representing the greatest risk, i.e. the youngest or least experienced driver and/or the one with the worst history behind the wheel. Insurance institutions normally have offers ready-made for these cases and they do not necessarily imply paying a lot more. In any case, it is always better to tell your insurer than to run the risk of having to pay yourself the expenses of an accident caused by your son.

The first thing to do is try to identify the source so that the pipe in question or the source of the dampness can be blocked or turned off.

Secondly, if you have comprehensive household cover (two out of three homes have this kind of policy), call your insurance company or mutual fund and tell them about your problem. They will take charge of finding the source of the dampness, identifying whether it is in your house or in that of a neighbour, or if it is coming from jointly-owned pipes.

Thirdly, if the cause was not in your own home, you will have to speak to your neighbour or with the head of the neighbours’ association or its administrator so that their insurers can take care of the problem.

If they don’t pay any heed, ask your insurance to begin an action for claiming damages (assuming it is included in your insurance policy, as it is a very common type of cover)

If you don’t have any insurance, then you have a problem. You’re going to have to identify the source of the leak yourself, find one or more professionals to repair it, reach agreement with your neighbours or with the Association to see how it can be fixed, and cross your fingers that it all turns out all right.

What should you do in the event of a road accident?

1.     IMMEDIATELY mark the scene of the accident and turn on your vehicle’s warning blinkers.

2.     REPORT the accident promptly to the Security Forces (Civil Guard 062 or Emergency Centre 112).

3.     If there are casualties, DO NOT MOVE THE VICTIMS; keep them warm and wait for the requested emergency services to arrive. Victims should only be moved if there is an imminent risk of the vehicle exploding or catching fire.

4.     If you have WITNESSED how the accident occurred, wait for the police service to arrive: your testimony is important.

A) If the road accident has not produced any victims but only material damage, the two drivers involved will complete (or not) the Amicable Accident Report, with versions that may or may not coincide. Both must report the circumstances of the claim to their respective insurance institution and the insurer of the driver not to blame for the accident will notify it to the computerized system called CICOS.

The insurance institution of the driver not to blame for the accident will proceed to repair the vehicle of its insured or pay for the damages incurred once it has received agreement from the other body. Later, the insurer of the driver found to be to blame will pay a standard cost (a set amount per claim, regardless of the al cost) to the insurance institution of the driver not to blame.

B) If there have been casualties or fatalities, it is possible to use the back of the Damage Claim Report (the Amicable Accident Report referred to above) to provide further important or useful information, such as, for example, the details of any victims. If you do not have a copy of this form, any written report will be sufficient and this must always be provided to the insurer along with the Police Report which will be provided by the Civil Guard. 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, any medical and hospital attention required will always be provided. The insurance institutions will subsequently pay the public or private hospitals that have provided this care the cost of any services provided, on the basis of the stipulations contained in the various Public or Private Health Care Agreements signed between the insurance bodies and the different clinics and hospitals.

One of the main problems when it comes to providing economic reparation to accident victims is assessing bodily injury, as it is relatively easy to know, in material damage cases, despite being much more numerous, the value of the repair or replacement of a vehicle part, but when bodily injuries are involved, their assessment is much more complex and requires evaluation of a wide range of possible sequelae.

In order to put a value on these injuries, in Spain we use a Standard System for the Assessment of Bodily Injuries in Road Accidents, referred to as the “BAREMO”.This scale is obligatory and provides the best guarantee that two identical injuries will receive the same economic assessment regardless of where they occurred or which jurisdiction was in charge of charge of judging them.

The BAREMO is reflected in the Spanish Third-Party Liability and Insurance (Use of Motor Vehicles) Act and is updated every year in line with the cost of living. You can consult it or download a copy in the Technical Area section of this web site.

Most insurers can provide this cover. Find the one that best suits your needs. Some even cover veterinary expenses if your pet gets ill.

Ask your insurer or the insurance broker you normally work with about these matters.