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This
sort of insurance is called various names…
Family
insurance, as we know it from England, is also called Private
insurance, Home insurance, Household insurance or the
Family’s Basic insurance.
Here
in Spain it is called Hogar, Hogar Total or Contenido. This
insurance is a package containing :
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1. |
Contents
insurance |
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2. |
3rd
Party insurance |
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3. |
Legal
Expenses insurance |
Who
is covered by this insurance ?
The
family insurance covers all family members living in the
property (apartment or house).
The
insurance also covers live-in partner and children living at
home.
What
is covered ?
The
insurance covers all belongings which naturally belongs in a
home. In Spain there are limits to the value of individual
items, ie. jewellery can be limited to 1.500,oo euros and
individual objects, ie. a painting, 2.400,oo euros.
It
is therefore wise to demand that certain valuables are
mentioned in the policy, also the value should be mentioned. A
record of the contents, by means of photos, is a very wise
decision. We foreigners have a different way of living than
the Spanish, therefore you should let the insurance agent
visit you at home, and let him make the record of contents.
Ask him to give you a copy of the photos on a CD. Making this
record of contents will not cost you anything, it is a service
that we provide for our customers.
Deciding
on the insurance amount ?
The
insurance amount, which is stated in the policy, must at least
match the actual value of the contents. Should you have item
that you do not want to replace in case of damage (ie. a fur
coat), you need to indicate in the policy that it is exempt.
It is just as important to omit coverage of an item as it is
to cover it. This way you avoid “under coverage”, which
means that in case of damage, you would be paid less than it
costs to replace the damaged goods.
The
Family insurance consists of:
Fire
insurance :
Fire
insurance compensates for damage of contents after a fire;
also for damages which can arise in connection with a fire.
Further
the expense of putting out the fire (fire department) is
covered.
The
demand that there must have been fire – in other words
blazing fire, flames – means that the so called singe
damages are not covered.
Crucial
for the interpretation whether the damage is covered or not is
the following formula : “.. unrestrained blazing fire
(flames) which can spread by itself.” Damages caused by
explosion, lightning, short circuit etc,
come
under this part.
Damages
caused by electrical induction, which we know so well in
Spain, are also treated under the fire insurance. In this case
the insurance company will solve it in co-operation with the
electrical company, mostly Sevillana.
Insurance
against theft:
In
this case insurance covers differently, depending on which
kind of theft it is. We normally distinguish between the 4
types :
Burglary.
This is when the theft
has been done from a properly locked property with closed and
locked doors. The insurance companies make it a condition that
the thief must have gained access by force. Breaking in a door
or a window, use of violence or picklock.
Robbery.
It is robbery if you have
valuables or cash stolen from you by means of violence or
threats of violence.
Open
theft – is as it says,
open theft. No threats of violence. It can be bag-snatching or
the wallet being stolen. If it is done in public, make sure
that you get witnesses.
The
insurance companies mostly make it a condition that there has
been cry of terror “stop the thief”.
Simple
theft. This is when the
thief has entered you property without you noticing it, ie.
through an open window. Under simple theft comes also theft
from car.
Always
report theft:
To
receive compensation it is a condition that you report
the theft to the police.
You
will be given a receipt, which must be sent to the insurance
company.
Insurance
of damage by water: 
Should
you have damage by water on your contents, the insurance will
cover provided the damage is caused by breakage of the
installations in the house or apartment.
Damages
by water as a result of storm damage on the roof is included,
while water slowly seeping out from pipe installations is
exempt.
Damage
of refrigerated and frozen foods :
Should
you have food in the refrigerator or freezer destroyed, due to
electrical power failure, it is normally included in the
policy.
Legal
Expenses insurance:
In
Spain we have 2 types of legal aid. The first is simply called
legal aid. However you can also include legal expenses
insurance in the policy This is a cover, where you choose your
solicitor, and in many cases it covers the expenses of civil
court cases.
3rd
Party insurance:
The
contents insurance normally covers the 3rd party
responsibility for you and your family. Here we distinguish
between 4 types of responsibility :
We hope that this information has given you
a picture of what is covered by a Family insurance.
We also hope that you understand why we
would like to visit you, partly to make a record of contents,
but also to be able to describe the physical security / risk
of
the
property (alarm / bars / lattices / security doors etc.) to
the insurance company.
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this way you are dealt “the best hand” in case of damage
!!!
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- for your peace of
mind!