Hello.
So here is our situation: The apartment unit we purchased in Lisbon is finally ready (one of 25 units in a building that just finished a complete rebuild/renovation). Would appreciate any information on how house insurance works in Portugal. So, the insurance person wants to insurance the apartment for 1/4 of its current market purchase value. We are told that in case of a fire or event destroying the whole apartment, the condominium/building insurance would kick in as well to cover the rest?? I don’t quiet understand. In the USA we just insure the house for the total value of the house. Also any differences between owner occupied and landlord insurance in Portugal? As always thank you for all the help.
A similar thing was explained to me that the insurance is to cover the cost of rebuilding - since in the case of a fire, you would be legally entitled to part of the lot’s value as a part owner.
It was a little fuzzy, but good enough for me
I got extra coverage (double, roughly) by buying a life insurance policy through the insurance company, for not much more.
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Thank you for your response. So the whole building has a separate insurance that would come into play and pay us more if the whole apartment is lost? So they doubled your house coverage for getting a life insurance through them? Thank you.
I’m not sure about that. The way it was explained to me was, if the building burns down (for example), there is no more building, so you get money to rebuild (your share) of the building. But the land is still there, and you still have part of the land, so the insurance company doesn’t pay you to buy more land (because again, you still own it)
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I do not know how exactly it works, but I know that I can purchase insurance for the property pretty cheaply through my bank (millenniumbcp). I would ask my banker for more information.
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The way I’ve purchased mine was through an insurance broker as no options were available online back then. Maybe the online business has picked up since then, so I’d recommend checking the big players websites: Tranquilidade, Fidelidade, etc. and compare them also to your bank’s options as @CTC suggested. If none works, find a broker office.
This is correct, assuming it is an apartment. I don’t know if you’re from the US, but it’s similar to condo insurance there.
There should be a building policy in place, for which you are charged, and that covers everything outside your unit, and depending on the policy, some of the inside on it. Your management company or board should have the details for you.
It almost surely doesn’t cover your possessions or most of the interior of your unit, and you need a separate policy for that. It likely does not need to be the full value of your unit, depending on what you own.
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Thank you all.