Danni Worth (Columnist)
1. Does my golf buggy insurance include use on the road?
Unless your buggy has a registration number, lights, indicators, horn, and has been homologated for use on the roads – and this extends not only to major roads, but also to internal community roads within urbanisations – then it is an offence to use the buggy on the public highway, and the insurance would be invalidated.
2. Who is entitled to drive my car?
This varies from insurer to insurer but, generally speaking, any driver over 27 years of age who has held a full licence for over two years, and has the owners permission, is able to drive the car. You must advise us if anyone under this age is intending to drive the car.
3. I have an apartment and the community arranges the buildings policy. Do I still need cover?
There is no clear cut answer to this as each case is potentially different. However, in our experience, community insurance policies do not always cover private water pipes and will often have low sums insured, leading to problems in the event of a claim. In addition, the Community policy will only cover the ‘original’ buildings, as handed over by the developer – therefore any improvements such as installation of a safe, security grilles, sun blinds etc. will NOT be covered. Our advice, always, is for the client to ‘top-up’ with a 1st loss buildings limit of at least €20,000. We would also recommend that they consider insuring for the full reconstruction cost, and accept that there is some duplication of cover.
4. Which documents is it obligatory to carry in your vehicle when driving in Spain?
a. A valid driving licence
b. The “Ficha Tecnica” – showing all the technical details of the car
c. Insurance documents (receipts, green card, certificate of insurance for UK vehicles)
We recommend you do NOT leave the documentation in the car when it is unattended, in case the car gets stolen, especially as you will need the paperwork when making a statement at the police station.
5. Can I get a quote if I don’t have a registration number?
Yes. We understand that there may be circumstances where you won’t have the registration number of the car you want to insure (you may be thinking of changing cars and want to find out the cost of insuring the new one). However, if you decide to take out the new policy, we need to know the registration number.
6. Can I get private medical insurance if I have a pre-existing condition?
The approach varies from Insurer to Insurer but, in general terms, yes, although there are likely to be some restrictions. These may completely exclude any treatment related to the condition, or involve some form of limitation. It is imperative that you do NOT cancel existing health insurance before establishing what, if any, restrictions the new provider will impose.
Feel free to contact us if you have any further questions or would like to review certain parts of your policy.
