In Spain, private insurance does not cover physical nor material damage caused by natural disasters, like extraordinary floods, earthquakes, terrorist acts or the actions of the Armed Forces. In these cases, the Insurance Compensation Consortium (Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros) is responsible to compensate affected policy holders. The CCS is a Government scheme.
Which are the requirements for a compensation from the CCS?
– A corresponding insurance policy must exist, be valid and cover the same assets against extraordinary risks (a home insurance for a damaged house or a car insurance for a car). Since July 2016, car policies that cover only civil liability also include the extraordinary risk surcharge, so that the corresponding vehicles also have extraordinary risks insured.
– The insurance must be up to date in its payments.
– The insurance must be issued at minimum 7 days before the event took place.
How to ask for indemnification?
The claim for compensation at the CCS can be made by the insured person, the policy holder or his respective representatives or via the insurance company with which the insurance is made. It can be made by telephone (tel. no. 900 222 665 / 952 367 042) or online via the website of the CCS (http://www.consorseguros.es).
Which information must be submitted when presenting the claim?
– The insurance policy number and the name of the insurance company
– Personal details of the person presenting the claim: Name and surname, NIE or CIF, address and contact telephone number
– Bank details for the payment of the compensation: IBAN and BIC of the account
– In case of a damaged car, the details of the car: brand, model and license plate of the damaged vehicle. If the car is already in a workshop to be repaired, the workshop’s name, address and telephone number must be indicated to expedite the assessment of the damage.
When the surveyor comes to see the caused damage/s, it is important to
– have the remains of the damaged asset available for the expert or, if having already been removed or repaired, to present photos taken from the damaged assets before its removal or reparation,
– keep the invoices in case some repair had to be done urgently,
– present to the surveyor
* the budgets and invoices for the repair,
* the original and a copy of the insurance policy and the original and a copy of the proof of payment of the premium corresponding to the period in which the damage has been caused (the copies will be for the expert),
* an account statement or bank document to verify the IBAN number of the account to which the compensation shall be paid.
Timeframe for a claim
The Law of Insurance Contracts establishes that the claim shall be reported within seven days after the incident, however, it is always recommendable to claim it as soon as possible.
Which sums are insured?
The same sums are applied as those specified in the ordinary insurance policy. The compensation paid by the CCS will include the amount of the cost of repair or replacement of the damaged asset (in the case of vehicles, the amount corresponding to the market value at the time prior to the accident, if there is a total loss), depending on the amount that is given as insured sum in the contracted insurance. Other optional agreements, like “new value”, “first risk insurance” or “with compensation limit”, etc., which have been included in the policy, will also be considered.
The compensation payments will be made directly to the beneficiaries by bank transfer.
Recent Comments