Car Insurance in Spain

A green card is now also known as an international certificate of insurance or in Spanish – ¨certificado internacional de Seguro¨- (CIS) A green card is proof that you are insured and should you drive outside of the country where you took your insurance out you will need one. If you do not have a green card or (CIS) upon crossing the border into another country you could be obliged to take a basic border insurance to drive in the country concerned. The green card system started back in 1952 and 40 countries were involved with the agreement that the green card was proof of insurance. If you need a green card for travelling outside of Spain you must request it as they are not always automatically sent.

To be able to use the roadside assistance you must always contact the breakdown assistance number which will be issued with your policy. This service is a 24 hrs assistance and is a multi-lingual service. The cover is applicable from KM 0 (home start). Immobilisation due to a breakdown, accident, flat tyre, fuelling error, keys left in the car or a broken windscreen preventing normal transit is all covered Rescue and salvage of the insured vehicle is covered but limitations do apply. If you are further away from home and need assistance and it is late at night or the repair on your vehicle is going to take longer than 8 hours then your would be covered to stay in a hotel and repatriation to your home or destination will also be dealt with for both yourself and your passengers. The vehicle will also be repatriate to your home town.

Windscreens can crack or break due to the impact of small objects or strong vibrations. Should this happen then you are fully covered on your motor insurance policy to either replace or repair any of the windows on your vehicle. Also available is the option to request an appointment with the mobile unit that will travel to you and do the repair or replacement on the spot offering the same quality and guarantee as if done in a workshop. Should you have a broken glass claim this will not effect your no claims bonus.

You can request that a courtesy car be included in your policy and this can be used in cases of immobilization of the insured vehicle due to an accident or a breakdown, fire and theft. Normally you are entitled to a Class C rent a car for a determined period of time but should you wish to have a larger car or an automatic this can be arranged but it has to be pointed out when taking out your insurance. To qualify for the courtesy car you have to meet the requirements of the major Spanish rental car companies.

It is so important that if you have a car accident in Spain that you know that you have a company behind you that is going to take care of all the procedures from arranging for your car to go into the garage to be assessed by a surveyor, arranging the repair on the vehicle, liaising with the garage if there is a language problem, arranging a courtesy car for you and if there are personal injuries making sure that you are compensated adequately for the trauma that you have gone through due to the accident.

Cover is provided for the insured or any authorised driver of the insured vehicle in the event of a traffic accident in regards to legal proceedings brought against them or to reclaim against another company.