Spanish vocabulary to take out an insurance policy

Insurance is part of our lives, even more so if we are older or have a family to take care of. The most cautious will contract life insurance, others will only have their latest mobile phone insured. Many of us only take out travel insurance every time we pack our suitcases, or we take out health insurance to save us from waiting to see a specialist.

Expats, when changing countries and starting from scratch in a new city, usually take out insurance according to their needs to avoid some headaches. When I arrived in Spain I had to take out insurance in order to have medical coverage. That's why in this article I bring you some Spanish vocabulary related to the world of insurance, so that you can have it handy when you need to ask for information or take out an insurance policy. In addition, I will give you some examples so you can see how these expressions work in context.

Basic Spanish vocabulary

In the first place, you need to know what type of insurance you need. These are the most common ones:

• Types of Insurance: tipos de seguros:
  • Home insurance: seguro de hogar.
  • Health insurance: seguro de salud / seguro médico.
  • Car/motorcycle insurance: seguro de coche o moto.
  • Life insurance: seguro de vida.
  • Funeral insurance: seguro de decesos.
  • Travel insurance: seguro de viajes.

Once you know what insurance you need, you will have to do some market research and see what different insurers have to offer.

Insurance company: Compañía de seguros / Aseguradora.

Each of them will ask you a series of questions about your property (your house, your car, etc.) or about your habits and lifestyle in order to draw up a budget.

Assured: Asegurado.

For example: El asegurado tiene derecho a ser indemnizado por los daños cubiertos por la póliza. (The assured has the right to be indemnified for the damages covered under the policy).

Coverages: Coberturas.

Durante el último año muchos seguros han ampliado sus coberturas. (Over the last year, many insurances have upgraded their coverage).

¿Qué coberturas tiene el seguro de hogar? (What coverage does the home insurance policy have?)

¿Qué cubre esta póliza? (What does this policy cover?)

¿La caldera también está cubierta? (Is the boiler covered as well?)

Policy: Póliza.

Esta tarde hemos firmado la póliza del contrato, ¡al fin! (This afternoon we signed the contract policy, finally!)

Si quieres saber cuáles son las coberturas tienes que leer la póliza, allí está toda la información. (If you want to know what the coverages are, you have to read the policy, all the information is there.)

The report: El parte.

En el parte deben aparecer los datos de todos los involucrados en el accidente. (The report should include the details of all those involved in the accident.)

Accident, loss: El siniestro.

Si tienes un siniestro, debes notificar inmediatamente a la aseguradora. (If you have a loss, you must notify the insurer immediately.)

Cuando lo que has asegurado se ha visto afectado al cien por cien, hablamos de un siniestro total. (When what you have insured has been completely damaged, we are talking about a total loss.)

Premium: Prima.

Me han subido la prima del seguro, creo que voy a cambiar de compañía. (My insurance premium has gone up; I think I'm going to change insurance company.)

Useful expressions when talking about insurance

Request for estimates / a quote: Pedir presupuesto.

Me gustaría pedir un presupuesto para mi seguro de hogar. (I would like to request a quote for my home insurance.)

Quiero contratar un seguro de salud para mí y para mi familia. ¿Podríais enviarme un presupuesto? (I would like to take out health insurance for myself and my family, could you please send me a quote?)

Request assistance: Pedir asistencia.

Para pedir asistencia hay que llamar al número que aparece en esta tarjeta. (To request assistance, please call the number on this card.)

¿Puedo solicitar asistencia durante las 24 horas? (Can I require assistance 24 hours a day?)

Reporting to insurance: Dar parte al seguro.

Si tienes un accidente de coche, tienes que dar parte al seguro. (If you have a car accident, you have to report it to the insurance company.)

To be insured: Estar asegurado/a.

He tenido un pequeño accidente con el coche, pero por suerte está asegurado. (I had a small accident with the car, but luckily it is insured.)

Further words you may need

Insurance broker: Corredor/agente de seguros.

Tengo que hablar con mi agente de seguros porque no entiendo bien el contrato. (I have to talk to my insurance agent because I don't understand the contract.)

Expert: Perito.

El perito tendrá que valorar los daños. (The loss expert will have to assess the damage.)

El perito se pondrá en contacto con usted para visitar el lugar. (The expert will contact you to visit the site of the claim.)

Policyholder: Tomador

The policy holder is the person who pays the premium.

¿Se puede cambiar el tomador de una póliza? (Can the policyholder be changed?)

All risk insurance / Fully comprehensive insurance: Seguro a todo riesgo.

Prefiero contratar un seguro a todo riesgo, me quedo más tranquila sabiendo que estoy totalmente cubierta. (I prefer to take out a fully comprehensive insurance; I have more peace of mind knowing that I am fully covered.)

Medical / Dental expenses: Gastos médicos, gastos de odontología.

Este Seguro de salud es más caro, pero también cubre los gastos de odontología. (This health insurance is more expensive, but it does cover dental expenses.)

Conseguir un dentista siempre es complicado, por eso necesito un seguro que cubra los gastos de odontología. (Getting a dentist is always complicated, so I need insurance to cover dental expenses.)              

I hope you find this Spanish vocabulary useful and that it will help you to understand a little more about the world of insurance. If you want to expand your vocabulary, remember that it is important to put it into practice, use it and repeat it so that you can memorize it more easily.

If you have any doubts about a word or expression above, please don't hesitate to contact us. We'll be happy to help you!