qianh

Hi
Last year I posted here asking about IBEX home insurance for my place in Portugal. I went with them. Although I haven't made a claim, I am general happy with their coverage. However this year they amended their minimum security requirement which means my house may not fit their requirement. So I am looking somewhere else again.
I had couple of quotes from Schofield and Intasure, they seem to be mentioned in other expat forums. I am just wondering if anyone here has had experience with them. Or any Portuguese providers worth recommending?

Many thanks!

bejaboz

There are plenty of companies to choose from as you will no doubt know by searching Google. We initially used Intasure and when we had a break in, although not much damage or goods stolen, they paid up promptly but the following year increased the premium so much they recovered what they paid out in a single premium, so we did not renew.


We looked at the larger insurance brokers but they were all similar in premiums and decided on a smaller broker with backed by a significant insurance company and have remained with them as they are still very competitive. A link to their web page is - Holiday Home Insurance Portugal | Portuguese House Insurance


We've had no further reason to claim, so unable to judge what the service will be like if we have to.


Regarding minimum security requirements, most insurers seem to want the same level in our experience.

Woodstore

Hi,

Try ageas.pt. I found them very reasonable and they speak English. They used to be Axa then merged into Ageas. This office is located near Faro.
Email
[email protected]
Website

http://www.ageas.pt

Mike

Deadlocks on entrance doors, shutters and/ or bars, grills or security locks on windows and patio doors are fairly standard requirements. An alarm will be required it contents exceeds a certain amount.
Ask Ibex for a quote from Hiscox. It was probably the best Holiday Home policy you can get.

qianh

Thanks for the reply! I will look them up.
As to the security requirement, I found some insurers accept lever operated lock/ latch on windows, but some specifically asked for key operated lock. This is the case of Ibex this year. I am going to look into the possibility to install the lock system as well. well Schofield is pretty relaxed in terms of security requirement, which may seem a bit suspicious.

carvoeiro

wow - that is a security spec - years ago i went to prisons with lower requirements
when i had a holiday home here and costs started to seriously rise we decided this -
buildings insurance and third party only
we took a long hard look at the contents - thought about what might be stolen - realistically its very unlikely large pieces of furniture will be taken unless you live somewhere very remote - couldnt at the time find new for old policies - so when we put realistic values on the contents decided not to insure them
We did have a reasonably secure house - good locks - shutters etc
i appreciate its a risk - but over time we saved 1000s -more than enough to cover second hand replacment values

Mike

If you have sliding windows and patio doors try something like this:
https://www.locksonline.co.uk/Patio-...Door-Lock.html
I can say from personal experience that they stand up to tremendous abuse. Burglar tried jemmying window, completely trashing frame and window but could not get in.

Mike

Each to their own. I had to make a claim for damage caused by electrical power surge. Saved me thousands having cover.
There are many other perils covered beyond theft which are more likely, fire, smoke damage, water damage, etc, etc.

carvoeiro

totally agree mike - each to their own
ours was totally a holiday home - we turned off water and electricity when not in use - totalled up the easy removable contents and based the decision on that
were all different and i think we should all carry out our own risk analysis then decide

gedscottish

For sure it's the way to go, no special security needs etc and you've got them on , just be sure to state with a PT company that your home is not your full time residence 2nd home/emmigrant home.

Fidelidade, Allianz or Liberty are certainly 3 great companies. Oh and avoid the banks!

Mike

AliceCaroline

Are the banks that bad gedscottish?

We are in the process of buying a place that we plan to move into in January.
I was thinking of just going with Millennium as I thought it would be easier.

I like the idea of buildings and third party only, we don't own alot of expensive kit.
We have had an "escaped water" claim here in the UK and I think it was just the carpet that cost alot to replace - we won't have fitted carpets in Portugal.
Our contents insurance here in the UK is only about £100 a year, even after our claim. If it's that cheap in Portugal I'd still take it out, so is it alot more there?

The fact that the official term used by the insurance company was "escaped water" still makes me laugh - it just doesn't reflect the scale of it.
It was a broken pipe pumping out 4 bar of pressure of water that took 20 minutes to turn off. Even with it running out of the property it was two inches deep before it was turned off, the noise of it was unbelievably loud.
Gone off topic a bit there - sorry.

qianh

Last year I was looking at Allianz home insurance and the quote was more expensive than ibex or U.K. Provider.

Mike

They are merely salesman who know nothing about insurance. How can they adequately advise on the cover you need, the suitability of policies or provide any support when you need to claim?

You might as well ask the greengrocer.

gedscottish

Exactly, they targets to hit and they need to sell and once there is a problem they don't want to know. We've lost many customers over last couple of years to Millennium as they had great prices for a "year or two", fortunately our predictions came true and the following year they humped the prices up again and some of the customers returned, others returned looking for help as they had an accident and got no assistance from the bank.
Millennium is our bank and I get on well with the guys over in the bank and they'll admit they hate dealing with insurance.