Property: Insurance news in Portugal

Portugal vulnerable: most homes remain without earthquake insurance

SÁBADO29 Jun

When insurance exists but does not always provide coverage

Storms lead to 20% to 35% increase in demand for new insurance policies

INEM budget grows by more than 100 million, but depends on mandatory housing insurance yet to be approved

The Ministry of Health estimates an increase of 117 million euros in INEM fees, “supported by the expectation of extending the requirement to take out insurance policies” for housing and catastrophe risks.

APS with a course on insurance for condominiums

The Portuguese Insurers Association (APS) will hold the course 'Condominiums (and) insurance' in Lisbon on October 14, between 09:30 and 12:30. The objective of the course is to share the technical aspects of insurance activity as well as the legal framework and the responsibilities of the different stakeholders involved in mandatory insurance and...

Condominium managers want mandatory multi-risk insurance

Multi-risk insurance is required by banks when taking out a mortgage as a security condition, but it is not yet required by law. In 2024, there were 3.64 million policies of this type.

The house has increased in value. Has the protection?

The current legal framework for insurance contracts came into force almost twenty years ago. Since then, the Portuguese real estate market has changed in scale, construction costs have increased significantly, technology has transformed risk assessment, and the information available to insurers, brokers, and consumers has multiplied. Even so, a weakness remains almost...

Utmost creates insurance distribution company in Portugal

Utmost has established a new entity to manage insurance distribution operations within the Portuguese market.

Leiria City Council agrees that mandatory home insurance should exist

The mayor says it is “extremely important” that a support system for those suffering from storms or other catastrophes is “pre-emptively secured”.

Ombudsman identifies failures following storm Kristin and recommends disaster fund

The Ombudsman identified significant constraints in the distribution of support created after storm Kristin and advocates for a national regime and a fund to respond to natural and seismic disasters. The institution presented 38 recommendations to improve evacuations and the protection of vulnerable populations. The findings, released in two reports, highlight delays in processing applications and structural issues in the insurance sector, such as low coverage and difficulties in accessing insurance in high-risk areas. Proposals include a mandatory insurance system for homes and businesses, a single digital platform for managing disaster aid, and better adaptation of warning systems for the elderly and people with disabilities.

Condominiums: the lack of protection for one puts everyone at risk

It is essential to have a cultural shift regarding risks and their coverage, especially concerning those that are intensifying due to climate change.

200,000 homes damaged by the train of storms identified

Six months after the storm 'Kristin', 35,908 applications for state support were registered and 179,046 are being paid by insurance companies.

Kristin: 80% of housing damages already paid

Only 26% of the 5.3 billion euros in damages caused by the bad weather were covered by insurance. 91% of the indemnified losses were supported by the international reinsurance market.

Train of storms. Insurers have already compensated 80% of housing damages caused by Kristin

The train of storms caused global losses currently estimated at around 5.3 billion euros, of which only 26% are covered by the insurance sector, noted the Insurance and Pension Funds Supervisory Authority.

Condominiums advocate for a single insurance policy for buildings and request a change to the law

A large part of the situations related to insurance claims triggered following the storms at the beginning of the year has been resolved, although “sometimes not in the best way,” notes the condominium association, which is calling for changes to the law. Portugal was hit by a series of low-pressure systems between the end of January and the beginning of March, of which...

Traditional brokerage "manages to be more competitive" against bancassurance

At the 5th edition of the National Insurance Forum, Nuno Santos, General Manager at Diagonal, analysed the competitive relationship between bancassurance and traditional brokerage in customer acquisition and retention during the talk “Bancassurance vs. Traditional Brokerage: The war for customer retention”. “Both traditional brokerage and bancassurance position themselves as competitors,” he began by saying...

Chubb and Hispania launch insurance for luxury homes

Chubb has reached an agreement with the underwriting agency Hispania to launch Masterpiece in Portugal and Spain, a product targeting the high-net-worth insurance segment for clients with high-value homes and assets. The goal of the product is to end fragmentation: instead of separate policies for...

Spanish Concentra acquires 100% of insurance broker Obimedia

The Concentra Group, which specialises in insurance and reinsurance brokerage in Spain and Portugal, has announced the integration of Obimedia – Sociedade Mediadora de Seguros, an insurance agent based in Óbidos, in the Leiria district. This operation is part of the group's growth strategy in the Portuguese market and expands its territorial presence to the western region.

Portuguese homeowners are unhappy with their insurance

88% of homeowners have multi-risk insurance, but most do not know what it covers

Now that the Montenegro government has made multi-risk insurance mandatory — a measure that will contribute to the creation of a Disaster Fund long demanded by the insurance sector — following the damage caused by the train of storms that crossed Portugal between January 27 and February 13, the digital broker Mudey...

Insurance company GamaLife to distribute 70 million in dividends

The insurance company GamaLife reported a net profit of 32.6 million euros in 2025, half of that recorded in 2024, marking its fifth consecutive financial year with positive results. According to the annual report published this Wednesday, the solvency ratio rose from 246% to 270% at the end of last year, despite the insurer...

Kristin. Minister of Economy to have “a conversation with insurers” to accelerate payments

The Minister of Economy stated in Parliament that he intends to have “a conversation with insurers” to try to speed up payments following the series of storms. He acknowledged that the “compensation process for people whose homes were affected is proceeding in a very uneven manner” and regretted that there are “municipalities that are much slower and some ...

Sabseg and Sabcrédito join forces for insurance and credit intermediation integration

Sabseg, an insurance broker, and Sabcrédito, an intermediary specialising in credit, have formalised a partnership that will provide private and corporate clients with a coordinated model for managing insurance and financing solutions, they announced in a statement. Clients will now benefit from integrated advice: Sabseg will handle the identification and contracting of coverage...

Government to support low-income families with mandatory catastrophe insurance payments

The Minister of Economy, Castro Almeida, announced in Lisbon that the government will provide financial support to vulnerable households for the new mandatory catastrophe insurance on homes and factories, part of the Portugal Transformation, Recovery and Resilience (PTRR) programme. While specific amounts remain to be defined by decree, the minister highlighted the creation of a catastrophe fund financed by these mandatory premiums. The PTRR, with a total budget of 22.6 billion euros over nine years, aims to address recovery needs following recent storms.

Letters to the editor

A section of a newspaper or publication featuring letters sent by readers to the editor.

Insurers acknowledge difficulty for property owners to pay multi-risk insurance

The Portuguese Association of Insurers acknowledges that some property owners may not be able to afford the multi-risk insurance that is becoming mandatory.