How long do I have to bring a claim against an insurer?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

Against your own insurer, two years if it is property and liability insurance, such as home or car insurance. If it is personal insurance, such as life, personal accident or private medical insurance, five. Against the insurer of the person who caused you damage, the same time limit you would have for claiming against that person, which is generally one year and, in principle, three if the event occurred in Catalonia. For road traffic accidents it is one year throughout Spain, Catalonia included. A claim made in writing interrupts the time limit, which then starts again from scratch. Against your own insurer Two years for property and liability insurance, such as home insurance, the owners' association's insurance, car insurance or rent guarantee insurance. Five years for personal insurance, such as life, personal accident, private medical or funeral insurance. The time limit starts when a claim can be made, which is normally the day of the insured event or the day on which it becomes known. Against the insurer of the person who caused the damage If there was no contract with the person who caused the damage, as with a neighbour or with the shop where you have a fall, the time limit is one year from when the damage becomes known. If the event occurred in Catalonia, it is three years, although against that person's insurer the prudent course is to claim in writing within the first year. What counts is where it happened, not where you live. For road traffic accidents it is one year throughout Spain. When the insurer replies with its reasoned offer (the “oferta motivada”) or its reasoned reply, a new one-year period starts to run. If the injuries need treatment, the time limit starts when their permanent after-effects are known, normally when you are medically discharged. If the damage was caused by a professional with whom there was a contract, such as a lawyer or an architect, the time limit may be different and it is advisable to seek advice. How the time limit is interrupted A written claim to the insurer or to the person who caused the damage interrupts the time limit, which starts running again in full from that day, provided you can prove that it was received. A complaint to the “Dirección General de Seguros y Fondos de Pensiones”, Spain's insurance regulator, also interrupts or suspends it, as the case may be. According to the “Tribunal Supremo”, Spain's Supreme Court, a claim against the person who caused the damage also interrupts it as against that person's insurer, but the prudent course is to claim against both. It is advisable to do so by a means that records the date and the content, such as a “burofax”, a certified letter with proof of content. If there are criminal proceedings over the same facts, the civil time limit does not run while they last and starts to run when notice is given that they have ended.