Holiday Home Insurance Spain — What Is and Isn't Covered

Spain remains one of the most popular destinations in the world for second-home buyers. The appeal is obvious: reliable sunshine, lower property prices than the UK in many areas, and a lifestyle that's hard to replicate elsewhere. But owning a property in Spain that spends significant time unoccupied creates specific insurance challenges that standard policies aren't designed to address.

This guide explains what holiday home insurance in Spain should include — and where standard policies fall short.

The Core Problem: Unoccupancy

Most standard home insurance policies — whether arranged through a UK insurer or a Spanish one — include a clause that limits or excludes cover if the property is unoccupied for more than a set period, typically 30 consecutive days. For some policies, it's 60 days.

For a holiday home in Spain that you visit two or three times a year for a week or two at a time, this means the property could be empty for 10 or 11 months of the year — far beyond what a standard policy covers. A burst pipe discovered on your Easter visit, storm damage from a November squall, or a break-in during winter could all fall outside the cover window of a standard policy.

This is why specialist holiday home insurance exists. It's designed specifically for this situation.

What Good Holiday Home Insurance in Spain Includes

Extended Unoccupancy Cover

The defining feature. A specialist policy should cover the property throughout the year, including extended periods of vacancy — typically with no restrictions or with a much higher threshold (90, 180, or even 365 days of vacancy). This is the single most important difference from a standard policy.

Building Cover

Coverage for the physical structure of the property — walls, roof, floors, fixed installations, swimming pool structure — against fire, storm, flood, lightning, subsidence, and other standard perils. The building should be insured for its full rebuild value, not its market value.

Contents Cover

Your furniture, appliances, soft furnishings, and personal belongings left at the property. This should apply both during vacancy and when you're in residence. High-value items (artwork, jewellery) may need to be listed separately.

Theft and Break-In

Empty properties in Spain are unfortunately a target for burglary, particularly in tourist areas where properties are visibly seasonal. Your policy should cover theft, vandalism, and malicious damage, including during periods of vacancy.

Emergency Assistance

A 24-hour emergency assistance service covering plumbing emergencies, electrical faults, locksmith, glazier, and similar call-outs. This is particularly valuable for a holiday home — if a pipe bursts while you're in the UK, you need someone in Spain who can respond immediately.

Third Party Liability

Covers you if someone is injured on your property or if your property causes damage to a neighbour's — for example, if a roof tile falls and damages a parked car, or if a water leak from your property floods the apartment below. This is standard in Spanish home policies and essential for property owners.

Key Loss and Lock Replacement

Many specialist holiday home policies include cover for key loss and the cost of replacing locks, which is very useful for remote property management.

What Holiday Home Insurance Does NOT Typically Cover

• Rental income if the property is let and a rental is cancelled — you'd need separate rent guarantee or cancellation cover
• Damage caused by tenants if the property is rented out to holiday guests — this may require a landlord or rental policy add-on
• Gradual deterioration, damp, or maintenance-related damage
• Items taken from the property and damaged or lost elsewhere
• Swimming pool equipment faults (usually listed separately)

If You Rent Your Holiday Home Out

Many holiday home owners in Spain generate income by renting the property to holiday guests — through platforms like Airbnb, Booking.com, or through a local agent. This is a legitimate and popular arrangement, but it changes your insurance requirements.

If you rent your property to paying guests, a standard holiday home policy may not cover damage caused by tenants, their liability, or loss of rental income. You may need a specific rental or landlord policy add-on. Discuss this with us when arranging cover — it's important to get the right policy from the outset rather than discover gaps at claim time.

The Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros

One advantage of arranging holiday home insurance through a Spanish-market insurer is access to the Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros — a state insurance body that covers catastrophic events (extraordinary floods, earthquakes, political violence) that are too large or unpredictable for standard insurance markets. A surcharge is added to most Spanish property insurance policies, which buys you this protection automatically. Properties insured through Spanish-market insurers will typically be covered by the Consorcio; foreign-market policies may not include this benefit.

How 247 Expat Insurance Helps

We arrange specialist holiday home insurance for expat property owners across Spain — apartments on the Costa del Sol, villas on the Costa Blanca, townhouses in Andalusia, and everything in between. Our team arranges everything in English, makes sure the unoccupancy cover is in order, and handles the policy in a way that's straightforward for a non-resident property owner.

Contact us for a no-obligation quote. Tell us about your property and how often you visit, and we'll recommend the right cover.