How a home insurance claim (siniestro) works from report to payout

Key rules

• Notice: Tell your insurer within seven days of learning of the loss, unless your policy gives a longer period.
• Payment: The insurer must pay the undisputed amount within 40 days of receiving your claim, and late payment without justified cause earns default interest.
• Perito: The perito is paid by the insurer, but you can dispute the valuation and appoint your own.
• Refusal: The insurer must pay or refuse in writing with reasons; silence is not a refusal.

The short version

A claim (siniestro) runs in three steps: you report the loss, the insurer's perito inspects and values it, and the insurer pays or refuses in writing. Each step has a deadline, and knowing them protects you. The step-by-step checklist below covers what to do in the first hours.

Who is involved

• You (the policyholder). You report the loss, give full information and prove the damage.
• The insurer. It decides whether the loss is covered and how much it pays.
• The perito. This is the expert the insurer appoints to inspect the damage, find the cause, check it is covered and value the loss.
• The repairer. Agree the work with the insurer before starting anything that is not an emergency.
• Your community. If common areas or neighbours' homes are affected, tell the administrator or president in writing. A claim may involve the community's insurance as well as yours.

Your notice deadline

Tell your insurer within seven days of learning of the loss, unless your policy gives a longer period. A policy cannot shorten it to your disadvantage.

Late notice does not cancel your cover by itself. The insurer can claim for harm the delay caused. It can refuse the claim only if you acted with intent or serious fault, or if it proves you hid the loss. Give all the facts about what happened and the consequences. A sample email is below.

What the perito does, and your rights

The perito reports to the insurer and is paid by it, so they are not independent in the strict sense. Professional rules and good faith still require an objective report.

You have the right to receive the valuation. If you disagree, you can dispute it and appoint your own perito. Be present at the visit with your photos and receipts.

What the insurer must do, and when

The insurer must pay the undisputed amount within 40 days of receiving your claim. If the amount is agreed, it must pay within five days of the final valuation. Otherwise it must give you a written, reasoned refusal. It should also pay the full indemnity within three months of the loss, unless the delay is justified or not its fault.

If it pays late without justified cause, you earn default interest. This is the legal interest plus 50 percent. From two years after the loss it is at least 20 percent a year. Silence is not a refusal, so keep chasing in writing. Whether a delay is justified is decided case by case, in the end by the courts.

If it stalls or you disagree

Complain first to the insurer's customer service. You can then go to the insurance regulator, the Dirección General de Seguros y Fondos de Pensiones, or to the courts. Keep a record of every contact, as the checklist says.

File a home insurance claim in order, from first hour to payout

• Make the home safe: switch off electricity if water is near installations, close the stopcock or gas supply, and leave the home if there is danger. Call 112 if anyone is at risk: in the first minutes after you find the damage

• Limit the damage: move belongings, mop up, ventilate and add temporary protection, without doing the full repair: in the first hours

• Photograph and film the damage and its cause before you change anything. Keep damaged items, broken parts and receipts for emergency costs: before any clean-up or repair

• Tell the administrator or president of your community in writing if common areas or neighbours' homes are affected, or the source is in a common element. Ask for the community's policy number and insurer: the same day or the next day

• Agree a time for the perito (the insurer's loss adjuster) to visit and be present with your photos and receipts: after the insurer opens the claim

• Agree the repairs and costs with the insurer before you start any non-emergency work, and keep the expert's report, quotes and invoices: after the perito's visit and valuation

• Keep a record of every contact: claim number, case handler name, dated messages, a call log with date, time, person and what was agreed, burofax receipts, and a copy of your policy conditions: throughout the claim

What to watch out for

• Late notice can cost you: If you report the loss after the seven-day period, the insurer can claim damages for harm the delay caused. It can reject the claim if you were deliberately late or seriously at fault. Report as soon as you spot the damage, even if you do not yet know the cause or the cost. Send the rest of the details as soon as you have them.

• Incomplete information can weaken your claim: The insurer is entitled to know the circumstances and consequences of the loss. Holding back details can be treated as serious fault. Give full and honest details about what happened and what was damaged, and keep a copy of what you send.

• Silence from the insurer is not a refusal: The insurer must pay the undisputed amount within 40 days of receiving your claim. It must also either pay or give a written, reasoned refusal. Without justified cause, late payment earns default interest. If the 40 days pass with no payment or written reason, write to the insurer's customer service asking for payment plus interest.

Claim notification email to your insurer in Spanish and English

Send this by email to your insurer, or by burofax if you want a certified record. Either way you get a dated record of when you gave notice. The Spanish text goes first because the insurer works in Spanish. Fill in the brackets, attach your photos and keep the sent message.

Message to send

Asunto / Subject: Aviso de siniestro – Póliza [número de póliza] – [dirección de la vivienda]

Español

Estimados señores:

Les comunico un siniestro en la vivienda asegurada.

• Tomador del seguro: [nombre completo], [NIE o DNI]
• Póliza número: [número de póliza]
• Dirección de la vivienda: [calle, número, piso, código postal, ciudad]
• Fecha y hora del siniestro: [fecha y hora]
• Fecha y hora en que lo descubrí: [fecha y hora]
• Causa y descripción de lo ocurrido: [qué pasó y cómo]
• Daños en el edificio (continente): [descripción y estimación inicial]
• Daños en el mobiliario y los bienes (contenido): [descripción y estimación inicial]
• Otras personas o aseguradoras implicadas: [vecinos, dirección, aseguradora, o "ninguna"]
• Fotografías: adjunto [número] fotografías de los daños.
• Contacto y disponibilidad para el perito: [teléfono, correo, días y horas]

Si se trata de daños por agua:

• Origen de la fuga: [tubería propia, vecino, tubería comunitaria, tejado]
• ¿Está controlada la fuga?: [sí o no]
• Vecinos afectados, con dirección y aseguradora: [datos]
• Administrador de la comunidad: [nombre y contacto]
• Parte amistoso: [completado o no]

Les ruego que confirmen la recepción de este aviso y me indiquen el número de siniestro y los pasos a seguir.

Atentamente, [nombre completo] [teléfono]

English

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am reporting a loss at the insured home.

• Policyholder: [full name], [NIE or DNI]
• Policy number: [policy number]
• Address of the home: [street, number, floor, postcode, city]
• Date and time of the loss: [date and time]
• Date and time I discovered it: [date and time]
• Cause and description of what happened: [what happened and how]
• Damage to the building (continente): [description and first estimate]
• Damage to furniture and belongings (contenido): [description and first estimate]
• Other people or insurers involved: [neighbours, address, insurer, or "none"]
• Photographs: I attach [number] photographs of the damage.
• Contact details and availability for the expert: [phone, email, days and times]

If the damage is from water:

• Origin of the leak: [own pipe, neighbour, shared pipe, roof]
• Has the leak been stopped?: [yes or no]
• Affected neighbours, with address and insurer: [details]
• Building administrator: [name and contact]
• Parte amistoso (friendly accident report between neighbours): [completed or not]

Please confirm that you have received this notice and send me the claim number and the next steps.

Kind regards, [full name] [phone]

After you send it

• Delete the water-damage lines if they do not apply.
• Keep the sent email, with its date and time, together with the photos.
• If you also phone the insurer, ask for a reference number. A call alone leaves no record, so send this email as well.
• Keep a translation of any document you attach. An official translation is only needed if the case goes to court.

Frequently asked questions

Can the insurer reject my claim if I report the loss late?

Not for lateness alone, but it can reject the claim if you delayed on purpose or with serious fault. Otherwise the insurer can only claim compensation for harm the delay caused. It also cannot reject on this ground if it learned of the loss by other means.

Is the perito independent from the insurer?

No, not strictly, because the perito is appointed and paid by the insurer. They must still give an objective report. You have the right to receive the valuation, and you can dispute it and name your own perito.

What interest can I get if the insurer pays late?

If the insurer pays late without justified cause, default interest runs from the date of the loss at the legal interest plus 50 percent.