Frequently Asked Questions about Insurance

According to the Insurance Contract Law, the validity of an insurance policy is for an annual, renewable period, regardless of whether the payment is semi-annual, as in your case.
The validity period of your insurance is specified in the policy provided by your insurer, typically for one year starting from the contract date.
The expiration of your semi-annual payment and the date it is charged at the bank is a different matter from the policy’s validity period.
Additionally, please note that if you wish to change your insurance company, you must provide formal notice to your current insurer at least 2 months before the policy expires.

It depends a little on the insurance company where you have the insurance, but actually the insurances are annual contracts, so if you want to cancel it before the expiration date the company does not allow it.
In case of sale, and depending on the insurer, they give you the option to stop the insurance for a period of time in case you buy another vehicle and, by insuring it with them, they take advantage of the pending premium.
But really, if you find another offer in another company, they have no obligation to cancel and return the money, nor to adjust the rate to the premium of the competition.

When requesting a quote from any insurer or broker, they are required to provide the price including taxes, so you know the exact amount to pay. Regarding taxes, as an estimate, 0.0075% applies to the Consorcio (on the highest insured capital) and 0.05% applies to the net premium.

Regarding the payment, insurance policies are annual, and even if the company offers installment options, the full amount must still be paid. If the customer had paid the full premium upfront, no refund would be issued, so the installment plan still requires payment.
Sometimes insurance companies may deduct the outstanding payment from the claim settlement, but this depends on the company. It’s recommended to discuss it with your insurer. Since the policy is annual, even if paid in installments, the company is within its rights to legally pursue the remaining premium if unpaid.

The Insurance Contract Law establishes that the insurance policies contracted have a duration of one year, regardless of whether the payment is made in installments.
Even if you give two months’ notice prior to the charge of the next bill, the contract is annual, so you are obliged to pay the full premium corresponding to the annuity.

If the cancellation letter was signed by the policyholder, included the policy number and the insurer’s name, and the insurance company received it within the legal timeframe for contract cancellation, the company would be obliged to refund any payments collected.
The letter must always be addressed directly to the insurance company, not to intermediaries, regardless of who handles the administrative process of sending the letter.
In the case of a mortgage, the bank may require insurance with rights assigned to them in case of fire damage to the property. However, they cannot mandate a specific insurance company; the choice is up to the policyholder, unless there is a signed agreement stating otherwise between both parties to use a particular company (which we are unaware of in this case).

If any steps have not been properly completed or any information is missing from the email (e.g., if your bank did not send the letter in time, even if they said they did), the insurance company could still charge the premium.

In these cases, it’s best to try to reach an agreement with the insurance company.

• The letter sent by the insurance company is merely informational, and there is no obligation to send it.

• You have 55 days to return the payment, but the insurance company may legally claim the amount if there was no notice given 2 months before the policy’s expiration.

• Regarding premium increases, insurers typically apply a no-claims bonus that doesn’t exceed 50%. Once this percentage is reached, the premium will not decrease further, as insurance rates increase annually due to technical regulations and inflation adjustments (IPC), even if the bonus is applied.

• Our recommendation is to have a good-faith discussion with your insurer, pointing out that you have found more affordable options with other companies, and try to negotiate a reduction in your premium for commercial reasons.

Regarding your issue, we inform you that all insurance companies have a customer service department. We recommend you file a claim explaining your reasons or contact the consumer protection office for further assistance.

In any case, if it may interest you, we have previously addressed the topics of **”How to switch insurance companies”** and **”What happens if I want to cancel insurance mid-year”** on our blog. You might find this information useful for your situation.

Since this is an alternative your company suggested, make sure you have the necessary information on how to proceed if needed. We encourage you to review your insurer’s advice and the steps to follow when switching or canceling insurance mid-year.

In response to your query, we can inform you that in all companies, when the driver is under a certain age, they must be listed as the primary or occasional driver to be covered. Simply being listed as the policyholder does not ensure coverage. Additionally, the specific conditions of each policy will indicate which drivers are or are not covered.

Each insurance company has its own process for these situations. Typically, when a vehicle is deregistered due to sale, the policy is suspended, and the remaining premium is kept for insuring another vehicle for the same policyholder. In your case, it’s unclear if you or the company will be the policyholder for the new vehicle. We recommend contacting your insurer to clarify their specific procedures and whether they offer this option.