Keeping your home-country insurance policies after moving to Spain

Terms used

• Consorcio — The Consorcio is the Spanish state insurance compensation body, which backs authorised insurers and charges a surcharge on Spanish policies.
• IRPF — IRPF is Spanish personal income tax, charged on residents' worldwide income.
• Patrimonio — Patrimonio is Spain's annual wealth tax on net assets, with allowances that vary by region.
• Modelo 720 — Modelo 720 is the Spanish declaration of assets held abroad, filed between January and March.

Key rules

• Home policy: A home-country home policy usually ends or is suspended once the insured address is no longer your main residence.
• Spanish home: Insure a Spanish home with a Spanish-authorised insurer, because most foreign insurers cannot lawfully cover it.
• Travel cover: Tell your travel insurer you now live in Spain, or a claim can be refused.
• Foreign life policy: Payouts are taxed in IRPF at 19% to 30% on the gain.
• Modelo 720: File it if foreign life insurance and annuities total over 50,000 euros on 31 December.

The short answer

Most home-country policies stop working properly once you live in Spain. Home and travel cover usually depends on you living in the country that issued it. Foreign life policies can keep running, but they bring Spanish tax duties. Read the residence clause in each policy and tell each insurer about your move.

Home and contents insurance

A home policy covers the address named in it, and it usually requires that address to be your main residence. Once you move, cover for that property generally ends or is suspended. Tell your insurer before you go.

• Your old home, if you keep it empty or let it out: some insurers allow a short grace period or offer special terms. These usually include an unoccupancy clause that restricts cover after 30 to 60 days. Ask for the terms in writing.
• Your new Spanish home: a foreign insurer is usually not authorised to insure property in Spain. Insurers from outside the EEA may not insure Spanish residents or Spanish property without authorisation from the Spanish insurance regulator. EEA insurers can do so only after notifying through their home regulator.
• If you buy through an unauthorised insurer: the contract is not automatically void, but you have weak protection. You get no backing from the Consorcio, the state insurance compensation body. You may also have to pay the insurance premium tax and the Consorcio surcharge yourself if the insurer does not.
• Mortgage: a lender will require home insurance, so you will need a policy from a Spanish-authorised insurer.
• Your belongings in transit or storage: these may be covered only under a separate removal policy.

Travel insurance

Home-country travel insurance is designed for people who live in that country. If you move to Spain without telling the insurer, a claim can be refused. Trips to Spain itself count as your home area, so they are usually not covered.

• Tell the insurer about your change of residence and ask which trips stay covered. Trips outside Spain may be covered only if the insurer agrees.
• Check the limit on days per trip. Stays over 90 to 180 days are commonly excluded, and annual multi-trip policies often have this limit.
• Pre-existing conditions are a common exclusion.
• As a resident of Spain you may need an expat or international policy, or a Spanish travel policy. The policy wording governs, so read it.

Life insurance and annuities

You can often keep a foreign life policy, but as a Spanish tax resident you are taxed on worldwide income.

• Payouts, annuities and surrenders: the gain (payout minus premiums paid) is taxed as savings income in IRPF, at 19% to 30%. Partial surrenders are taxed on the gain in the same way.
• Death benefits: these go to your heirs and fall under Inheritance and Gift Tax, not IRPF.
• Unit-linked policies: a foreign unit-linked policy does not get the tax deferral on switching funds that Spanish ones get. Gains may be taxed every year if the policy does not qualify as life insurance under Spanish rules.
• Patrimonio: the surrender value of the policy counts towards this wealth tax, subject to regional allowances and the state minimum.
• Modelo 720: if your life insurance and annuities held abroad total more than 50,000 euros on 31 December, you must file this declaration of assets abroad between January and March.

Before you decide to keep a foreign life policy, ask a Spanish tax adviser whether it qualifies under Spanish rules and what it will cost you in tax each year.

What to do

The timeline below gives the order. The warnings and FAQ below cover the main traps and common questions.

Timeline and deadlines

• Tell your home-country home insurer that you are moving to Spain: before you move

• Ask whether the policy offers a grace period or special terms for an empty or let property: before you leave the property

• Expect an unoccupancy clause to restrict cover on an empty or let home: usually 30 to 60 days after the property becomes empty

• Tell your travel insurer about your change of residence and check which trips stay covered: before you move

• Check the limit on days per trip in your travel policy, as stays over this limit are excluded: before each trip, as limits are commonly 90 to 180 days per trip

What to watch out for

• Your home policy may stop covering you once you live in Spain: Home-country home and contents policies usually cover only the named address and require it to be your main residence there. Moving to Spain generally ends or suspends that cover, and a claim can be refused. Tell the insurer about your move before it happens and ask in writing what cover remains. Take out a Spanish-authorised policy for a home in Spain.

• A foreign insurer is not allowed to insure your Spanish home: Insurers from outside the EEA cannot lawfully insure Spanish residents or property in Spain without Spanish authorisation. The contract is not automatically void, but you would have weak protection and no Consorcio backing, and you may owe insurance premium tax yourself. Use an insurer authorised in Spain, and check this before you sign or renew.

• Travel insurance can be refused if you did not declare your move: Home-country travel policies normally require you to live in the issuing country. A claim arising from an undeclared move to Spain can be refused, and trips to Spain itself usually count as home. Tell the insurer you now live in Spain. If it will not cover you, switch to an expat, international or Spanish travel policy.

• Foreign life policies bring Spanish tax duties: As a Spanish tax resident you pay tax on gains from a foreign life policy, and the surrender value counts for wealth tax. Foreign unit-linked policies also lose the tax deferral on switching funds that Spanish ones get. Life policies held abroad totalling over 50,000 euros on 31 December must be declared on Modelo 720 between January and March. Ask a Spanish tax adviser to check your policy before your first tax return as a resident.

Frequently asked questions

Can a non-EEA insurer legally cover my home in Spain?

No, an insurer from outside the EEA generally cannot lawfully insure property in Spain unless it is authorised in Spain, directly or through an authorised branch. The contract is not automatically void, but you would have weak protection and no backing from the Consorcio, the state insurance fund. You may also be liable for insurance premium tax if the insurer does not pay it.

How is a payout from my foreign life insurance taxed in Spain?

If you are a Spanish tax resident, the gain on a foreign life policy payout is taxed as savings income at 19% to 30% on the 2025 scale. The gain is the payout minus the premiums you paid, and surrendering the policy is taxed the same way. Death benefits paid to heirs fall under inheritance and gift tax instead.

Do I have to declare a foreign life policy on Modelo 720?

Yes, if your life insurance and annuities held with foreign entities total more than 50,000 euros on 31 December. Modelo 720 is the declaration of assets abroad, filed from January to March.

Will my home-country travel insurance cover trips to Spain once I live there?

Usually not, because Spain counts as your home area once you live there, so claims for trips to Spain are often refused. Trips elsewhere may be covered only if you tell the insurer about your move and it agrees. If it does not, look at an expat, international or Spanish travel policy.