Under sunny Spanish skies: insuring the idyll

It’s the great dream of retirement for many Brits – the clear skies and sunny beaches of Spain. But what of coverage to protect the idyll? What of grappling with a policy written in a foreign language?

This is where Taylor Francis Insurance Brokers comes in.

The UK-based firm of brokers, which has offices in Buckinghamshire and South Wales, serves its expat clients via Ivan Goddard, an executive based full time in Murcia, about 30 miles inland from Alicante in southeastern Spain.

It was Goddard, himself a resident in Spain for years, who came up with the idea of an insurance broker that offers all the benefits of a UK-based providers – policy wordings in English, and the ability to pay from UK accounts – as well as an on-the-ground presence. The nascent operation, which began in September 2015, currently has GWP of just £7,200, but has 32 clients and counting. “Yes, it’s growing,” says Goddard.

As an expat himself, it became clear to Goddard from first-hand experience that British expats were nervous about the coverage available to them locally – both the level of cover and the Spanish policy wordings.

“When I came over here I spotted a gap. It was the fact that [expats] couldn’t understand the policies, and terms and conditions over here are slightly different to what they are in the UK.”

The firm actually offers either a Spanish-wording policy with English additions, or a 100% English policy written from the UK office for Spanish property. “It’s a matter of making sure clients have the right options and meeting their requirements,” says Goddard.

“Both insurer and broker are authorised and regulated by the FCA, and our Spanish-based customers still have the protection of the UK Ombudsman as the policy was written in the UK.”

Premiums can be paid in pounds from a UK bank account, and cover for UK-based assets is also available – for example, property owner’s insurance for a house that expats have left behind.