Updating your insurance when you move, sell or have a child

Key rules

• Sale: The buyer must tell the insurer in writing within 15 days of the transfer.
• Duty to report: Tell your insurer as soon as possible about anything that raises the risk.
• Leaving Spain: Give written notice before renewal and keep the insurer's cancellation confirmation.
• Unreported change: A claim can be reduced, or refused if you hid the change on purpose.

The short answer

Tell your insurer about any big change in your life before something goes wrong. A policy covers one specific home, person or car. If the facts change and the insurer does not know, it can cut or refuse a claim.

When you move home

Tell the insurer your new address. The insurer may move the policy to the new home and recalculate the premium, or ask you to take a new policy. If you keep the old home or sell it, the old policy can be cancelled or changed.

If you have a mortgage, the lender will want insurance on the new home. Ask the insurer for a refund of any unused premium on the old policy.

When you sell your home

The policy passes to the buyer, who takes over its rights and duties. This means cover continues for them. You must tell the buyer about the policy. The buyer must then tell the insurer in writing within 15 days of the transfer.

Either side can cancel. The insurer can cancel within 15 days of learning about the sale. You stay responsible for premiums owed before the sale. If the contract ends, the unused premium is refunded.

Changes you must report

You must tell the insurer, as soon as you can, about anything that makes the risk higher and that would have led it to refuse the policy or charge more. The law gives no fixed list, so your policy wording decides. Check it or ask your insurer or broker.

Home policies usually ask you to report:

• major renovation or structural works
• renting out the home, holiday letting or running a business from it
• the home standing empty for long periods
• a change in the insured value or contents
• a new risk feature, such as a pool

Car policies ask about a new or main driver, a new address or garage, or a change of use. Life, health and accident policies ask about a new job, dangerous sports or your health, when the contract says so.

When you have a child

A new child is usually not a legal increase in risk by itself. Report it if your policy asks, or if it changes insured details such as life or health cover or named drivers. Ask your insurer if you are unsure.

What happens if you do not report

If you tell the insurer, it has two months to propose a change to the contract. You then have 15 days to accept or reject. If you reject or do not reply, the insurer can cancel with one month's notice and refund the unused premium.

If a loss happens before you reported the change, the payout can be cut in proportion to the premium you should have paid. If you hid the change on purpose, the insurer may refuse to pay at all.

If risk goes down, you can tell the insurer too and ask for a lower premium.

When you leave Spain

Cancel or adjust each policy in writing, before the renewal date. Use email with proof of receipt, burofax or registered letter. Follow the notice period in the policy. The law gives you at least one month's notice before renewal.

• Car: cancel, or suspend if the car stays. If the car is exported or de-registered with Tráfico, the insurer can cancel and refund. Civil liability cover is compulsory while the car is registered and used in Spain.
• Home: keep it if you keep the home, but say if it will be empty or let. Cancel it if you sell or the lease ends.
• Health: cancel it, or keep it if it also covers you abroad.
• Life and funeral: keep them if linked to a mortgage or if you want them to continue. Check they stay valid for a non-resident.

Ask your car insurer for a certificado de siniestralidad. It may earn you a no-claims discount abroad. The checklist and documents below cover the remaining steps.

Choosing between options

What should you do with your home policy when you sell the property?

• Let the buyer take over the policy: The buyer wants to keep the cover.

If the buyer wants your policy, they keep it and notify the insurer within 15 days; otherwise cancel it and ask for the unused premium back.

Timeline and deadlines

• Send written notice to cancel or adjust policies when leaving Spain: at least one month before the renewal date

• Report anything that makes your risk higher: as soon as possible

• Insurer proposes a change to the contract: within two months of learning of the change in risk

• Accept or reject the insurer's proposal: within 15 days of receiving it

• Insurer cancels if you reject or do not reply: within 15 days of your rejection, with one month's notice and a refund of unused premium

Documents you need

• Written notice from the buyer to the insurer of the sale, sent within 15 days of the transfer.

• Written cancellation notice to the insurer when you leave Spain, sent by email with proof of receipt, burofax or registered letter.

• Certificate of claims history (certificado de siniestralidad) from your car insurer, useful for a no-claims discount in your new country.

• Cancellation confirmation from the insurer, kept for your records.

Checklist

• Tell the insurer your new address when you move, and ask whether the policy transfers with a new premium or needs replacing.

• Report major renovation, renting out the home, long empty periods, a pool or a change in insured value to your insurer.

• Ask your insurer whether a new child or occupant must be reported under your policy.

• Tell your insurer in writing before you leave Spain, and follow the notice period in each policy.

• Stop the direct debit at your bank once a policy is cancelled.

• Check with your mortgage lender that life and home policies linked to the loan stay valid.

• Arrange insurance in your new country.

What to watch out for

• Unreported change can cut your payout: If a loss happens before you reported a change that raises your risk, the insurer pays less, in proportion to the premium you paid against the premium you should have paid. If you acted in bad faith, it may not pay at all. Tell the insurer as soon as possible about any change that raises the risk.

• The insurer may raise the premium or cancel: After you report a higher risk, the insurer can propose new terms. If you reject them or do not reply, it can cancel the policy. Answer the proposal within 15 days, and ask the insurer or a broker if the terms are unclear.

• A move can leave you uncovered: The policy covers one specific property, so your new home is not automatically covered, and a mortgage lender will require insurance there. Tell the insurer your new address before you move and confirm in writing that the new home is covered.

Frequently asked questions

Does home insurance pass to the buyer when I sell my home?

Yes, the buyer takes over your rights and duties under the policy, so cover continues for them.

Do I have to tell my insurer when I have a child?

Not always, because a new child is usually not a legal change of risk in itself.

Can I get money back if I cancel a policy when I move or sell?

Yes, you can ask for a refund of the unused premium when a policy ends, for example after a sale or when a car is de-registered. Ask your insurer for it in writing and keep the cancellation confirmation.

Should I keep my Spanish car insurance if I leave Spain?

Cancel it, or suspend it if the car stays in Spain. If the car is exported or de-registered with Tráfico (the traffic authority), the insurer can cancel and refund the unused premium. Also ask for a claims history certificate (certificado de siniestralidad), which may earn a no-claims discount abroad.