Mark Stücklin
Home insurance in Spain has been getting steadily more expensive for years, but the latest figures suggest something sharper happened around 2024. For property owners already grappling with rising taxes, higher community fees and tougher rules on holiday lettings, insurance is becoming another cost quietly putting pressure on holiday-home budgets..
Looking at a small but telling sample of real policies, premiums have risen far faster than general inflation. And unlike energy bills or mortgage rates, this is a cost many owners barely notice until the renewal notice lands.
What the numbers show
Take a villa on the Costa Brava. The annual premium rose from €393.76 in 2020 to €556.05 in 2025. That’s an increase of roughly 41% in five years, with a clear jump between 2023 (€471.46) and 2024 (€538.82).
Flats in Barcelona tell a similar story. One policy climbed from €175.52 in 2021 to €282.49 by 2026, a rise of more than 60%. Another flat saw premiums move from €236.76 in 2020 to €357.05 in 2025, while a third jumped from €248.88 in 2021 to €409.91 by 2026.
Across these examples, 2024 stands out. Several policies recorded double-digit increases that year, well above what could reasonably be explained by inflation alone.
The ratchet effect
Many owners will recognise the pattern. Insurance policies often start off competitively priced, then edge up year after year. By around year five, the premium can be dramatically higher than the original quote. Shopping around every few years can help, but recently even switching insurer has offered limited relief.
There are cases where shopping around is not even an option. One Barcelona flat insured through a mortgage-linked policy started at €40 per month in 2017. By January 2026 it had risen to €81.63 per month, or €979.56 a year. Changing insurer would mean losing the mortgage ‘bonificación’, making the higher premium effectively unavoidable.
Why insurance costs are rising so fast
Several forces are likely at work. Construction and repair costs have soared, pushing up claim values. Climate-related risks, from storms to flooding, are being priced in more aggressively, especially in coastal areas. Insurers are also tightening margins after years of underpricing risk, and passing regulatory and reinsurance costs on to customers.
Whatever the precise mix, the outcome is clear: premiums are rising much faster than household incomes or inflation.
Why this matters for second-home buyers
For second-home owners, insurance is just one line in a growing list of ownership costs. Add higher property taxes, rising community fees and increasing clampdowns on holiday lettings, and the sums start to look less attractive. For buyers who rely on short-term rentals to offset costs, the financial equation is becoming harder to balance.
Individually, none of these costs is a deal-breaker. Together, they quietly chip away at Spain’s appeal as an easy, low-cost second-home destination. And insurance, once a minor afterthought, is no longer quite so easy to ignore.
