Insurance for the Expats in Spain

The Spanish insurance industry includes dozens of types of compulsory and voluntary insurances for all occasions in life: from insuring certain property objects in case of theft to insuring the parts of the human body. Throughout many years, Spain has been re-declaring its status of a “social state” not only due to amount of social benefits and the supreme quality of the state medicine, but also due to the well-organized work of the social insurance funds financed through the significant taxation. Expats’ insurance in Spain is an important aspect in the sphere of insurance that enables non-residents take advantage of the social services along with the local citizens. When moving to Spain or visiting this country as a tourist, one should consider the purchase of several insurance types that surely will become handy for a legal stay in this country. These types of insurance include medical, tourist insurances, or car insurance (in case of a car purchase in a country or when entering the territory of Spain).

It’s worth mentioning that even illegal immigrants in Spain are included in the category of its “citizens”. Hence, they are also eligible for the official insurance, related discounts, and social services. As for the illegal immigrants’ rights for insurance, in the past 5 years the Spanish legislation has been repeatedly introducing amendments aimed at the cancelation of insurance benefits for the illegal immigrants. Although the purpose of these changes was to lessen the tax burden, these suggestions resulted in the waves of protests among the citizens and the medical workers. So, the government had to forget about this idea.

Expats’ Car Insurance Spain

Any transport vehicle that enters the territory of Spain must be insured, irrespective of whether its owner is the resident of the European Union or not. The same rule is applied in case of a car purchase. Below, one can find some important information concerning the expats’ car insurance in Spain:

• When buying an insurance in Spain, it is important to remember that the object of insurance is a transport vehicle, and not the life or health of the driver and the passengers; Insurances can be with or without franchise. In this case, franchise is the part of the insurance premium paid by a purchaser of the insurance. The smaller is the share of a franchise in a price, the higher is the final insurance cost;
• There is a special gradation on the market of the Spanish car insurance, including the following types: third-party civil insurance (as a obligatory minimum of the car insurance), damage insurance (including windshield/windscreen and bumper damages), complete coverage or seguro completo (the most expensive, yet, the most reliable insurance type)
• Often, the insurance covers car evacuation service, as well as the delivery of a driver and passengers to their house
• The price range for the expats’ car insurance in Spain is very wide and depends not only on an insurance package, but also on a certain insurance company. There are companies willing to sell their insurance for 200 euros, while other companies’ price-list starts from 2000 euros.

Expats’ Medical and Health Insurance in Spain

According to the Bloomberg research conducted back in 2015 as for the efficiency of the national health systems, Spain ranked 14th, leaving behind such world economical leaders, as the United States, Switzerland, and Germany. The main criteria of the research were the quality of the services and the amount of governmental spending for the health sector in general. Healthcare is a priority sphere in Spain, with the quality of the free medicine to be as good as the paid medical services.

With respect to the healthcare system/expats’ health insurance in Spain, its main advantages look as follows:

• On the territory of the Kingdom of Spain, everyone is entitled for the free medical care, including illegal immigrants without a residence permit and a job. It is sufficient to be registered on the Spanish labor exchange. However, back in 2012, as a part of the program on the governmental spending reduction, the government passed the law on cancellation of the medical insurance for the illegal immigrants. This legislation has provoked numerous social protests. As a result, in 2015 illegal immigrants regained this privilege (although, from now on, it is necessary to pay a monthly fee that is around 100 euros).
• Emergency-care medical services are free regardless of the presence or absence of the insurance.
• Residents of the EU-countries that temporally reside in Spain can use their EHIC card that allows them to receive medical care services under the same conditions as the Spanish citizens. The family members of a non-resident (spouses or children), who is a holder of the medical insurance, can get the medical coverage too.
• In case if a person is not a EU/European Economic Area resident, one should purchase expats’ medical insurance in Spain before applying for a visa (that is one of the motives for a visa to be issued). This insurance covers all medical services, except for the plastic surgery.
• If one lives and works in Spain, instead of insurance, it is possible to obtain a personal social security number. On receiving this number, one will have to contribute a portion of the revenues to the General Social Security Fund of Spain (TGSS). When the official registration in the social security system is completed, one receives a document that allows to obtain medical care. It is required with a purpose to get a medical card (TSI).
• A possibility to obtain a private medical insurance in Spain for the expats (at a higher price). This type of medical insurance includes dentist’s services and allows to choose a hospital and a doctor based on the personal preferences.

Expat Travel Insurance in Spain

In case if you are planning to come to Spain for a short tourist visit (with a duration of stay less than 90 days) and you are not a resident of EU/European Economic Area, in order to get a Spanish visa, it is necessary to purchase an expats’ travel insurance in Spain. The minimal sum of this insurance policy coverage constitutes 30000 euros for the whole duration of the trip and includes the following:

• The cost of the medical consultations, treatment, surgeries, and medications
• Remains repatriation cost

There are also more expensive variants of the travel insurance for Spain with a wider spectrum of services. The services of dental clinics, family members’ repatriation, and the costs for the lost documents recovery are added up to the offered services.

The choice of a certain expats’ travel insurance in Spain often depends on the type of a vacation and a risk of a potential injury related to the activity one plans to get engaged into during the vacation.