Does home insurance cover damage caused by squatters?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

It depends on the policy. Some include legal expenses cover for recovering the property, with the fees of the lawyer and the “procurador” (court agent). Others cover damage from vandalism, although many exclude damage caused by the people occupying the home. There is also specific squatting cover, with its own limits. If the property had been empty for longer than the policy allows, or was a second home that was not declared, the insurer may rely on that to refuse to pay or to pay less. What it may cover Legal expenses cover for recovering the property. You are free to choose your own lawyer and court agent, although the policy usually limits what it pays if they are not the insurer's own. A limit so low that it renders that right meaningless is not valid. Damage from vandalism, if the policy does not exclude damage caused by the people occupying the property. Under specific squatting cover, also the locksmith, the cleaning and sometimes a monthly sum while the occupation lasts. What to check Whether the policy requires the property to be lived in or sets a maximum number of days for which it can be left empty. What you were asked about the use of the property when you took out the policy. If you were not asked, you did not have to declare that it was a second home. And if you answered incorrectly without wilful misconduct or gross negligence, the insurer cannot refuse to pay, only reduce the payout proportionately. Whether the occupation began before you took out the policy or during the waiting period (“período de carencia”), which is usually one to three months. If that waiting period was not highlighted and accepted with a specific signature, it can be challenged. Whether the problem is really a tenant who stopped paying. That is not squatting. It is covered, where applicable, by rent guarantee insurance. How to recover the property There are two routes. The criminal route, with a complaint for unlawful occupation (“usurpación”) or, if it is your home, even a second home, for unlawful entry into a dwelling (“allanamiento de morada”), offences that can now be dealt with in fast-track trials. And the civil route, which allows you to ask the court to require the occupiers to produce, within five days, a document entitling them to be there and, if they have none, to order their eviction. This fast-track civil route is only open to individuals, non-profit organisations and public bodies that own social housing, not to companies. In any event, act straight away.