How long does the insurer have to pay a claim?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

The law does not set a fixed time limit for making the full payout, which comes once the checks and the assessment have been completed. But it requires the insurer to pay, within 40 days of receiving notification of the claim, the minimum amount it may owe based on what it already knows. And if it has not paid three months after the insured event, it is late and owes interest, unless it has a justified reason. In road traffic accidents it also has three months from receiving the claim to make an offer or explain why it is not paying. The time limits Once the checks and the assessment needed to establish whether there has been an insured event and what it amounts to are complete, it must pay. Within 40 days of receiving notification of the claim, it must pay the minimum amount it may owe based on what it already knows. If it has not paid three months after the insured event, or has not paid that minimum amount after 40 days, it is in default. If the statutory expert procedure was used and the experts' report is not challenged, it has five days to pay the amount they set. What happens if it pays late Interest runs from the date of the insured event. In 2026 it is 4,875 % a year for the first two years and at least 20 % from then on. The court imposes it even if it has not been requested. The insurer only escapes it if there is a justified reason for the delay, something the courts rarely accept. Disputing the amount is not enough. The 40-day period starts when the insurer receives notification of the claim, so it is advisable to notify the claim straight away and to provide any documents it requests without delay. If the claim is notified late, interest is counted from the notification and not from the insured event. In road traffic accidents The victim must first claim from the insurer of the vehicle responsible. That insurer has three months to make a reasoned offer of compensation (the “oferta motivada”) or, if it does not accept the claim, to give a reasoned reply. The offer must explain how it is calculated and be accompanied by the medical reports on which it is based. If the insurer lets that period pass without a justified reason, it owes late-payment interest. And if the victim accepts the offer, the insurer has five days to pay it.