Why your first Spanish insurer is hard to leave

Key rules

• New contract: A different insurer means a new contract, so waiting periods normally restart unless it recognises your earlier cover in writing.
• Premium notice: Your insurer must warn you of a premium change at least two months before renewal.
• Honest answers: Answer the health questionnaire truthfully, because a serious inaccuracy can end your cover.

The short version

Your first Spanish insurer is the one you are most likely to stay with. Four things build up against you: waiting periods, health conditions on record, your age, and yearly premium rises. Choose the first policy as if you will keep it for years.

Waiting periods start again

A new policy with a different insurer is a new contract, so waiting periods (carencias) normally start again unless the new insurer agrees in writing to recognise your earlier cover. Whether it agrees is a commercial decision, so get the promise on paper before you cancel the old policy.

Some cases are easier. Company or group policies often have no carencias. Emergencies and accidents usually have none. Some insurers also waive waits for newborns of existing policyholders or during campaigns. Check the policy conditions for each.

Your conditions become pre-existing

Anything diagnosed or treated under your first policy counts as a pre-existing condition for the next insurer. Depending on how serious it is, a new insurer may:

• accept you with that condition excluded;
• add a premium loading (recargo);
• delay your cover;
• or decline you.

Chronic or serious conditions, such as cancer or heart disease, are the ones most often excluded or refused. Minor, resolved conditions are often accepted. Some insurers take pre-existing conditions without a questionnaire, but with longer waits or higher premiums. Each insurer decides for itself.

Your health declaration follows you

When you join, you must answer the health questionnaire truthfully. If the insurer finds a serious inaccuracy, it can end the contract by telling you within one month of learning of it. If you made a claim before then, it may pay only part, based on the premium you paid compared with the one that should have applied. If you acted with fraud or serious fault, it can refuse the claim and keep the premiums. The insurer has to prove the inaccuracy, and vague questions tend to protect you. Keep a copy of what you answered.

Age closes doors

Many insurers limit entry age for full medical cover. The usual cut-off is around 60 to 65. Some accept people up to 70 or older, or offer only restricted or copay products. Once you are in, cover usually continues for life, but the premium rises with age. A policy you start young is worth far more than one you try to start later.

Premiums rise each year

Insurers can revise the premium at each annual renewal, for medical cost inflation and for moving into a new age band. Rises are often steep from around age 50 to 65. They cannot normally raise it mid-year because you made claims, and an individual health policy generally cannot be cancelled because you fall ill.

The insurer must tell you of a premium change at least two months before renewal. If you do not accept it, you can cancel with one month's notice before renewal. But leaving means facing the points above, so a rise often traps you rather than frees you.

How to choose well

• Ask for the full policy conditions and read the waiting periods before you pay.
• Pick an insurer you could live with at 60, not only at your current age.
• If you move later, get written recognition of your earlier cover first.
• Do not leave anything out of the questionnaire.

The decision, timeline, documents and warnings below help you act on this.

Choosing between options

Should you stay with your current insurer or move to a new one?

• Stay with your current insurer: You have a condition diagnosed or treated under this policy, or you have waiting periods that have already run. You keep your history and avoid fresh underwriting.

• Move to an insurer that recognises your earlier cover in writing: The new insurer confirms in writing that it will recognise your time with the old one, so waiting periods do not start again.

• Move to a company or group policy: You can join through an employer or association. These policies often have no waiting periods.

• Move to a policy with no health questionnaire: You have conditions that would otherwise be excluded and accept longer waiting periods or a higher premium in exchange.

Move only if the new insurer has accepted you in writing, with the conditions and waiting periods stated, before your current policy ends. Otherwise stay.

Timeline and deadlines

• Give written notice if you do not accept the new premium and want to cancel: at least one month before renewal

Documents you need

• Your policy conditions (the contrato), from the insurer. They show your waiting periods (carencias), your tariff and what is excluded.

• A copy of the health questionnaire you answered when you took out the policy, from the insurer. You need it to show what you declared if the insurer later questions it.

• The renewal letter from your insurer, which states any premium change. It must reach you at least two months before renewal.

• A written statement from a new insurer that it recognises your earlier cover, if you want to avoid new waiting periods.

What to watch out for

• Conditions from your first policy count as pre-existing: A new insurer treats anything diagnosed or treated under your old policy as pre-existing. It may exclude that condition, add a surcharge (recargo), delay cover or decline you. Cancer and heart disease are the most often excluded or refused. Get the new insurer's decision in writing before you cancel your current policy.

• An inaccurate health declaration can cost you your cover: If you leave out something that affects the risk, the insurer can end the contract within one month of learning of it. If you had a claim first, it pays only part of it. In cases of fraud or serious fault it can refuse the claim and keep your premiums. Answer every question truthfully and keep a copy of your answers. If a question is vague, ask the insurer to clarify it in writing.

• Age can close doors: Many insurers refuse new individual policies after about 60 to 65, or offer only restricted products. Serious or chronic conditions can also lead to refusal or a surcharge. Choose your first insurer as one you can stay with for life, and compare entry age limits before you sign.

Frequently asked questions

Can my insurer cancel my individual health policy if I become seriously ill?

No, an insurer generally cannot cancel an individual health policy because you fall ill. Cover usually continues for life as long as you renew. Your premium still rises as you get older.

Can my insurer raise my premium during the year because I made claims?

No, insurers usually cannot raise your premium mid-year because of your claims history. Changes come at the annual renewal, using the tariff written in your contract. You must be told at least two months before renewal.

What is the oldest age I can join a new Spanish health insurer?

Many insurers set a maximum entry age of about 60 to 65 for full medical cover. Some accept people up to 70 or older, and others offer older applicants only restricted or copay products. This is why joining late in life leaves you with far fewer choices.