Saying no when your bank or a caller pushes insurance

Terms used

• Bonificación — The bonificación is a lower interest rate the bank gives you for taking linked products such as insurance, a card or payroll.
• FEIN — The FEIN is the standard information sheet for a loan, showing its rate and conditions.
• Lista Robinson — The Lista Robinson is a free register you join to stop receiving advertising calls.
• AEPD — The AEPD is Spain's data protection agency, which handles complaints about unwanted calls and can fine companies.
• DGSFP — The DGSFP is the government body that supervises insurers and handles insurance complaints.

Key rules

• Mortgage home insurance: A mortgage lender may require home insurance on the property but must accept an equivalent policy from any insurer you choose.
• Cancel notice: To stop an annual policy renewing, give written notice you can prove at least one month before the renewal date.
• Cold calls: A company needs your consent, or an existing contract for similar products, before it calls you to sell.
• Discount: Cancelling linked insurance can cost you the rate discount if your contract made it conditional.

A bank cannot force you to buy insurance

A bank cannot make you buy insurance as a condition of an account or a loan. Making you take one product to get another is generally banned as an unfair practice.

There is one exception. A mortgage lender may require home insurance on the property, because the property secures the loan. Even then, it must accept an equivalent policy from any insurer you choose. Life insurance is not obligatory for a mortgage.

Discounts are a voluntary trade-off

Banks often cut your interest rate (a bonificación) if you take linked products. These can be home or life insurance, a payroll domiciliation or a card. You are free to say no, but you then pay the higher rate.

Before you accept, do these things:

• Compare the rate with and without the discount. Your loan offer and the standard information sheet (the FEIN) must show both.
• Ask how much the rate rises if you cancel the insurance later. The contract must state this.
• Remember that you can cancel the policy at renewal, but the bank can then withdraw the discount if the contract made it depend on that policy.

If you choose another insurer with equivalent cover on a mortgage, the bank cannot worsen your loan terms because of that choice.

Cancelling a policy sold with a bank product

A policy sold alongside a loan or account is a separate insurance contract. You can cancel it on its own. The notice rule for stopping a renewal is: give written notice you can prove at least one month before the renewal date. The timeline below shows the other deadlines.

If you signed under pressure, you may have a short window to withdraw. The timeline below gives the periods for life policies and for policies sold at a distance. The insurer must refund the premium for the unexpired period.

Cold calls selling insurance

Commercial calls you did not agree to are banned. A company may call only if you consented, or if you already have a contract with it for similar products. You can object at any time.

• Say you do not consent to commercial calls. Ask who is calling and which company they call for.
• Sign up to the Lista Robinson, a free register that lets you opt out of advertising. Companies must check it.
• Calls made with automated systems without your consent are also banned.

Where to complain

• Bank or insurer ignores you: write to its customer service first. Then go to the Banco de España for bank conduct, or the DGSFP for insurance.
• Sales call you never agreed to: complain to the Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD), which can fine the company.

The checklist, documents list and decision guide below help you act.

Choosing between options

What do you do when your bank or a caller offers you insurance?

• Decline it: The bank presents insurance as a condition of an account or a consumer loan, or a caller you never agreed to hear from offers a policy. Tied sales are in principle banned, and cold calls need your prior consent.

• Take the bank's policy for the discount: Your mortgage offer gives a lower rate with linked products and the saving is worth more to you than the policy costs. The discount is a voluntary trade-off.

• Choose your own insurer: The bank requires home cover on a mortgage.

Insurance can be a condition only where it is legitimately linked to a mortgage, such as cover on the property. Anything else is your choice.

Timeline and deadlines

• Withdraw from a life policy you have just signed: within 30 days of the contract date

• Withdraw from other policies sold at a distance: within 14 days

• Expect the insurer's own notice if it does not want to renew: two months before the renewal date

Documents you need

• Your loan contract and offer, which show the interest rate with and without the discount for linked products and what happens if you drop the insurance. Your bank issues them.

• The standard information sheet (FEIN) for your loan, which also shows the rate with and without the discount. Your bank issues it.

• The policy of the insurer you prefer, if you want to replace the bank's policy on a mortgage. It must give equivalent cover to what the bank asks for.

• Your written notice to the insurer to stop the policy renewing, in a form you can prove you sent.

Checklist

• Ask the bank in writing whether the insurance is a condition of the loan or only of a rate discount.

• Compare the rate with and without the discount in your loan offer before you accept linked insurance.

• Ask for the rise in rate that follows if you cancel the insurance later.

• Tell a caller you do not consent to commercial calls, and ask who they are and which company they call for.

• Sign up to the Lista Robinson to stop commercial calls.

• Send written notice you can prove to cancel a bundled policy before its renewal date.

Frequently asked questions

Can I cancel the insurance and keep my mortgage?

Yes, the insurance is a separate contract and you can cancel it on its own, but the bank may then withdraw your rate discount. The rate rises by the amount your loan contract states. Check the contract to see how much the discount is worth before you cancel.

Can I cancel a policy I just signed under pressure?

Yes, you can withdraw from a new policy within 14 days for most policies sold at a distance, or within 30 days for life insurance. The insurer must refund the premium for the unexpired period. Write to the insurer to withdraw.

Where do I complain if the bank or insurer ignores me?

Start with the customer service of the bank or insurer, then go to the Banco de España for bank conduct or the DGSFP, the insurance regulator, for insurance problems. Keep copies of everything you send.

Where do I complain about an insurance sales call I never agreed to?

You can complain to the AEPD, Spain's data-protection agency, which can fine the caller. To stop future calls, sign up to the Lista Robinson, a free opt-out register that companies must check before calling.