British enquiries to 247 Expat Insurance have climbed sharply through the first half of 2026, and the pattern is striking. The growth is not coming from one product line or one region of Spain. It is coming from people who have tried buying insurance the traditional way, found the experience harder than it needed to be, and decided they would rather deal with a broker who actually speaks their language and understands their paperwork.
This is what those British expats are telling us, and what we think it says about the wider market in 2026.
The problem with the old route
Until recently, a British expat moving to Spain had two realistic options. They could walk into a local Spanish agency and try to navigate a policy in Spanish, often signing documents whose exclusions they only partly understood. Or they could buy direct online from a Spanish insurer's own website, again in Spanish, with no one to call when something went wrong.
Both routes can work. Plenty of expats have used them for years. But both share the same weakness: at the moment something actually goes wrong — a hospital admission, a stolen car, a flooded flat in Valencia — the customer is on their own, in a language that is not their first, dealing with a claims handler who has no reason to advocate for them.
What "going through a UK-aware broker" looks like in practice
The phrase sounds abstract until you see it in action. Here is what it has meant for British clients we have helped in 2026:
- The policy is explained in English before it is signed. Every clause, every co-payment, every waiting period. If a client does not understand a term, they ask, and we answer. Nothing gets buried.
- The comparison is genuine. We hold appointments with Sanitas and Caser for private health, and we work with Spanish underwriting partners on car, home and travel cover. The client sees options side by side, not whichever product the agent earns most on this month.
- The renewal does not auto-roll into a worse deal. We review every client's policy each year and tell them honestly whether to stay or switch.
- Claims are handled with us in the room. When a client phones from A&E in Marbella or with a smashed wing mirror in Madrid, they call us, not the insurer. We translate, we chase, and we push back if the insurer's first answer is wrong.
English-speaking service, seven days a week
One of the most common pieces of feedback this year has been about availability. Spanish offices close. Spanish phone lines route to Spanish speakers. UK-based comparison sites cannot help once you live abroad.
247 is open seven days a week, in English, with a team that understands the Spanish system from the inside. That is not a luxury feature in 2026 — it is the minimum a British expat should expect from a broker.
Multi-insurer comparison, not single-tied
A point worth being clear on: we are not tied to one insurer. For private medical cover we hold appointments with Sanitas and Caser, two of the strongest names in the Spanish private health market, and we place clients with whichever genuinely suits their age, health history and town. For car, home and travel insurance, we work through Spanish underwriting partners and present the comparison openly.
Buying direct from a single insurer's site means you only ever see that insurer's pricing and rules. A broker comparison means the market is doing the work for you.
NLV-aware health policies
The Non-Lucrative Visa has driven a huge share of British arrivals in 2026, and the consulate requirements around health cover are unforgiving. A standard Spanish health policy with co-payments will not pass. The policy must be full cover, no co-payments, no caps, no exclusions on repatriation language.
We see NLV renewals and first applications every week. We know which Sanitas and Caser products meet the wording the consulates currently accept, and we issue the certificate in the format that gets the visa over the line first time. That is institutional knowledge a Spanish-language general agent simply does not have a reason to build.
Claims advocacy — the part nobody talks about
The cheapest policy is not the best policy if no one fights your corner when you claim. In 2026 we have helped British clients overturn first-instance rejections on hospital bills, recover stolen vehicle payouts that were stuck in translation, and resolve home insurance disputes after storm damage in Andalusia. None of those clients would have got the same outcome on their own.
That is why we describe what we do as broking, not selling. The policy is the start of the relationship, not the end.
What this means if you are moving in 2026
If you are arriving from the UK this year, or you have been in Spain for a while and your current arrangement is starting to feel clunky, the question to ask is not "which insurer is cheapest" but "who picks up the phone when something goes wrong, and in what language."
247 is DGSFP-registered, English-speaking, and available seven days a week. We are not the only broker in Spain, but we are the one a growing number of British expats are choosing in 2026 — and the reason is consistent every time we ask.
Talk to a UK-aware broker before you buy.
We will compare your options across our insurer panel, in English, with no pressure.
Speak to 247247 Expat Insurance is registered with the Dirección General de Seguros y Fondos de Pensiones (DGSFP) in Spain. Information in this article is general guidance for British residents in Spain and does not constitute regulated advice on any specific policy. Cover, terms and consulate requirements are subject to change — please contact our team for a current personalised quotation.