This is a real case study in which we give the exact same details to a number of different Spanish car insurance companies as well as well-known Spanish insurance brokers.
The aim of course is to reveal who provides the cheapest car insurance in Spain. As well as looking for the cheapest quotation we also look at other interesting elements such as the customer service and the speed of replies to our request for a quotation for car insurance. Note that this case study was using companies and brokers who provide Spanish car insurance services and quotations in English.
Specification of Car and Driver to be Insured:
This was the specification i.e. the personal information of our driver as well as the specifications of the vehicle: we wanted to get the cheapest possible quote for car insurance on a fully comprehensive basis with an excess of €200. The car make and model is a Citroen Xsara Picasso SX (95) 1587 P, M. Engine size 1401-1899.
The car is Spanish as in left-hand drive and registered in Spain. The car is a diesel and is parked on a driveway at night with no alarm or immobiliser. Private use only i.e. no business use. The car has five seats and was new in 2004 with an approximate value now of €8000. This car insurance quotation is for a car based on the Costa Blanca with the driver aged over 40, having an occupation in sales, with four years no claims in Spain and having a full EU license for over 10 years. Annual mileage was estimated to be 15,000 km.
This exact same information was provided to all the various insurance companies and brokers.
Quotation from Abbeygate Insurance
The first company to respond was Abbeygate insurance with a very professional response and quotation of comprehensive cover for 492.00 Euros or comprehensive with protected bonus for 535.00 Euros. Both these quotations included breakdown with Home Start & Legal Assistance Cover (provided the vehicle meets the recovery companys’ criteria with regards to age and type of vehicle). Well done Abbeygate.
Insurance Quote from Knight Insurance/Liberty Seguros
Just slightly behind Abbeygate in terms of quick response time was Knight Insurance brokers. We were absolutely massively impressed with this quote because it was extremely detailed unlike other quotations which merely just gave us a price for car insurance Spain. In this instance Knight Insurance gave us a document from the company providing the quotation which was Liberty Seguros in Barcelona who are a very well-known and respected Spanish insurance company.
Quotations for car insurance in Spain on our Citroen Picasso car from Liberty Seguros/Knight Insurance:
THIRD PARTY €260.88
THIRD PARTY + FIRE €284.34
THIRD PARTY + THEFT + FIRE €317.36
THIRD PARTY + THEFT + FIRE + TOTAL LOSS €338.16
FULLY COMPREHENSIVE €547.12
FULLY COMPREHENSIVE + EXCESS €300 – € 419.37
FULLY COMPREHENSIVE + EXCESS €375 – € 405.67
FULLY COMPREHENSIVE + EXCESS €450 – € 396.69
FULLY COMPREHENSIVE + EXCESS €600 - € 388.79
FULLY COMPREHENSIVE + EXCESS €900 - € 386.22
FULLY COMPREHENSIVE + EXCESS €1500 - € 379.60
FULLY COMPREHENSIVE + EXCESS €3000 – € 372.96
FULLY COMPREHENSIVE + EXCESS €6000 - € 368.47
As you can see from the information above, Liberty Seguros give us not only a quote for full coverage car insurance but also third party car insurance as well as third party fire and theft car insurance. Even the quotation for fully comprehensive insurance is broken down with variations in case we wish to increase our excess, thereby reducing the premiums. Although we did originally state that we wish to have an excess of €200, we thought this was a nice touch because it then gave us the information to be able to know what risk we had to take on if we wished to get a cheaper price.
As well as this level of detail, Liberty Seguros also provided precise and detailed information on exactly what was and wasn’t included. This included detailed information on whether the windscreen was covered or not as well as the exact amounts of medical coverage. These are just a couple of examples, here is a complete list of the level of detailed information clearly highlighting exactly what came under the terms of the policy and quotation or not:
Mandatory liability cover
Voluntary liability cover: limit 50,000,000 euros
Liability from the cargo: limit 60,000 euros
Criminal defence: includes free choice of legal representation
Bail bonds: includes free choice of legal representation
Claims for damage
Subsidy for suspension of a driving licence
Damage to own vehicle
Excess for own vehicle damage
Total loss of the vehicle
Vehicle fire
Theft of vehicle
Broken windows
Replacement vehicle
Accidents to the driver
Passengers
Roadside assistance from kilometre 0 (emergency service provided from the door of your home)
Worldwide assistance for insured individuals
Processing of fines
Cover for optional accessories declared in the policy
Price from BC Seguros
Next we received a message from BC Seguros informing us that AXA is not offering market rates for auto coverage presently but to try either Linea Directa Spain or Balumba. BC Seguros however are providing insurance quotations for home insurance in Spain as well as health insurance Spain. We did at least appreciate the response and suggestions rather than them taking the easy option of completely ignoring our request for information.
Quote from The Insurance Centre
Next in our real insurance case study we received a very detailed response from the Insurance Centre as follows:
Third party only……………………..…… 256.68 Euros
Third party fire & theft…………………… 318.33 Euros
Third party fire, theft & Total Loss………. 344.19 Euros
Fully comprehensive……………………… 445.17 Euros (excess of €300)
We were informed that these prices would insure the vehicle for anybody over the age of 25 years whom has held a driving licence for longer than two years. It also includes road side assistance, bail bond, legal defence, windscreen cover, a green card and protected No Claims. Also included in the policy are:-
Accessories:
Fixed installations and improved elements integrated into the vehicle.
Total Loss in vehicles over 4 years old:
Damage, Fire and Theft covers will be indemnified on an Actual Cash Value basis plus 30%.
Liability as a pedestrian and as a non-professional cyclist.
The Policyholder and the main driver have liability cover up to an indemnity limit of 600.000 euros for their liability stemming from being pedestrians and non-professional cyclists.
Luggage and personal effects (Damage/Fire/Theft)
Following an accident, there will be cover up to 500 euros per claim, for the loss of luggage and personal effects, depending on the cover shown in the policy.
Damage or flaws caused to the vehicle’s interior upholstery (Damage/Fire/Theft)
Damage or flaws caused to the insured vehicle’s interior upholstery as a result of assisting accident victims, up to a maximum €300.
Fully Comprehensive Cover with an excess
If there is a Total Loss the amount of the excess will not be deduced.
Substitute Vehicle following a Fire or Theft
If Fire or Theft covers have been contracted, a substitute vehicle can be given up to a period of 45 days, after the first 72 hours from the moment the claim occurred. This is included in the above prices.
If you should require a courtesy car to be included due to an accident then there is an extra premium of €29.70. If the car is under 5 years old, cover can also be included for mechanical breakdown and this would increase the premium by €39.58.
Personal Accident Cover
3000 euros will be paid as an advance towards burial costs.
A telephone advice service will be given for the Loss (confiscation) of Driving License or Loss of points.
Cover for appealing against fines.
Ibex Insurance Services
Ibex insurance services provided us a quotation of fully comprehensive car insurance for 533.65 Euros with an excess of 200 Euros. This also included a named driver to include Legal & Breakdown and windscreen cover. Although we didn’t ask for it, quite helpfully Ibex also quoted for third party only car insurance of 326.78 Euros.
Easy Cover Insurance
Strangely we received an e-mail from Easycover Insurance concerning our Citroen Xsara, to say they had saved our quotation on their system and that they were unable to send out a written quotation. They suggested we e-mail them our phone number or phone them to find out the quotation. Quite why they couldn’t say in the e-mail how much the quote was for, is a mystery to us still. With plenty of other quotes and quicker responses from other Spanish insurance brokers and companies we just didn’t bother.
Spanish Car Insurance Case Study Conclusions
Final notes on our case study for car insurance: We didn’t receive responses from Dragon Insurance, INOV Insurance or Hamilton Consultants. We also did not contact Linea Directa by telephone, who are a major providor of car insurance in Spain. We did visit the Linea Directa website but it told us they did not do quotations online, neither could we email them. As it takes ages to give the whole detailed specification, we made our life simplier by getting the large amount of quotations above from the other rival companies. As you can see we unearthed some very good information from which you can base your own decision on who best to contact when searching for cheaper insurance in Spain for your Spanish car.
Clearly results will vary depending on people’s individual circumstances but at least this case study gives you an idea of where to start and who to contact first.
Thank you so much for this information on insuring my car in Spain. It has given me a few Spanish insurance brokers contact details which I didn’t actually know about before.
Andy
What is the length of the terms for those quotes? Is that annual? In the U.S., quotes are generally for 6 mos. of coverage, but I don’t know how the UK or Spain handle that.
Thanks,
Judy