Marbella Insurance Tips for Flood Damage

by Danni Worth
(Marbella)

It’s been almost two weeks since the disastrous storms and subsequent flooding in Malaga of the 3rd & 4th December, and for those of you who were unfortunate enough to be affected you are probably busy getting your homes, cars and business’s back to normal again and wondering how the Insurance industry is going to respond.

In my article of the 8th December, I explained that many of the claims which occurred will be dealt with by the Consorcio, and this is proving to be the case.

I am delighted to report that last night I had confirmation from one of our clients that she had just signed a claims discharge form with the Consorcio in the sum of just over €12.000 in full settlement for the flood damage she had suffered.

The Consorcio estimates that it will be dealing with around 10,000 claims in Malaga Province alone and that the cost of the claims will be in excess of € 40M – I personally think that this is a conservative estimate and that the final figure will be considerably higher.

If you are currently processing a claim with the Consorcio or indeed with your Insurance Company, our advice would be to document the claim as best you can, with photos, video reports, detailed estimates/invoices for works to be carried out to the property, estimates/invoices for cleaning or replacement of affected items of contents, and try and establish a figure which you intend to receive in settlement of the claim. All of this will assist the Loss Adjuster from the Consorcio to process your claim quickly.

The Consorcio has a margin of 10 days from receipt of the claim to name a loss adjuster who will then make contact with those who have lodged a claim – in our experience they are getting round to visit the clients in a reasonable time bearing in mind the volume of cases.

With regard to the repairs, we would strongly advise that no painting work be undertaken until such times as the walls etc are thoroughly dry, and if carpets or rugs have been affected do not relay cleaned or replaced ones until such time as the floors are completely dry – it can take several weeks for damp to come out of porous floors such as terracotta.

Once you receive a visit from the Consorcio Loss Adjuster he/she will request the following documentation from you;

• Photocopy of your NIE / NIF Nº or CIF Nº for Companies
• Photocopy of a bank document showing the bank account where you would like the claims monies to be credited.
• A copy of the Insurance Policy
• A copy of the receipt for the premium relating to the current period
• Proof that the premium was paid – ideally a copy of a bank statement showing premium for the period which covers the claim.
• Invoices / estimates for the various repairs required, and a list of damaged items etc.
• Photographs, videos etc of the damage suffered if available
• A copy of the Catastro Reference for the Property – this can be found on your IBI payment or title deed for the property.

The Consorcio has some information in English available on the following link www.consorseguros.es.

NOTE: This article was contributed by Danni Worth of Op de Beeck & Worth Insurance Brokers in Marbella. Op de Beeck & Worth has been serving Marbella families for over 40 years as a professional and independent insurance broker in Spain.