HOW TO CANCEL A SPANISH INSURANCE POLICY.

So many expat posts on Spanish Facebook communities scream that they emailed the Insurance company requesting cancellation, and despite this, the policy was renewed.

In Spain, when you enter a contract and want to end the contract then you need to make sure you give the correct notice to terminate it.

Obviously, there will be a clause stating whether a notice can be given mid-term. The majority of Insurance contracts in Spain specifically state that notice cannot be given to end the term mid-contract. When I moved to Spain nearly 20 years ago, all insurances required a minimum of 3 months' notice before the end of the term, and the Spanish Financial Services regulations upheld this.

It changed 10 years later to two months' notice before the expiry date, and now it is accepted that we can serve one month's notice before the expiry date to terminate the contract.

I learned the hard way about terminating a Spanish contract.

Just under 16 years ago I had an office on a 7-year lease. I paid rent each month and sent the tax on the rent each Quarter to the Tax authority (Hacienda) and never missed a payment. The rent was expensive, so I looked at downsizing to a smaller unit. I sent the owner an email 6 months before the lease ended, saying I would not continue the lease and would hand the keys back. On the final day, I handed the unit back to the owner, clean and freshly painted. End of story, you would think?

Well, 6 months went by and the, tax office wrote to me asking why I had not paid the tax on the rent.

I replied, explaining that the 7-year lease had ended, and I had given the owner the keys back, and there was no rent to pay. The tax office replied, stating that they had asked the landlord to see my termination notice. The landlord had sent them my email confirming 6 months in advance that I would not renew. The tax office informed me that my termination notice was not valid and I had to pay 6 months of tax on rent (that wasn`t due) at 198€ a month. I took it to my Spanish lawyers, and they confirmed that in SPAIN, to terminate a contract, you need to do so with a written contract with your signature on it. I paid 6 months x 198€ and then received a 64€ per month late payment fine.

The lawyers told me that technically in law the owner could also invoice me for rent up to the date I finally submitted a letter attached to my email with a signature on it.

SO IT IS NO DIFFERENT FOR THE TERMINATION OF INSURANCE.

PROCESS TO TERMINATE AN INSURANCE POLICY.

The contract is between you and the INSURER, so service of your notice must go directly to the insurer, not a broker or an agent. However, if you have a broker or agent, no harm in copying them in as proof of sending.

To CANCEL you-:

Use the email address that you provided to the insurance company. If you have a new email address, then update this information in your client area before using a different email.

Email customer services - Make sure the full names of the insured and the policy number are on the email.

Attach to the email a letter with your address and DATE on it, confirming you want to cancel and SIGN IT. Attach for proof (SECURITY) a copy of the passport or TiE.

Most insurers will have an AUTOMATED RESPONSE email that you cannot reply to, but most will provide you with a CRM number(customer relationship manager number your proof of service.

For us as agents for many customers, we send this information out as standard, but we also ask our customers to give notice, and to copy us in. When we receive our copy, we check it for errors, and if it is all correct, we also forward it on to our area office so there can be no doubt of service.

We suggest you adopt this process for the termination of all Spanish contracts, be it water, telephone, home security, commercial leases and home rental contracts.

HAVING THAT SIGNATURE MATTERS.

Francis Payne

Tailor Made Healthcare Spain.

Insurance Agent.

+34 956 777 905

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