As a self-employed or freelance expat in Spain you may wonder what kind of insurances are mandatory and recommended for you take out in order to abide the law and protect yourself and your sources of income. In this article we talk briefly about some of the insurances that might be useful in your daily life as an autónomo worker.
Insurances for “autónomos” or self-employed workers can protect your life in Spain
Mandatory Insurances for Self-employed Workers
The mandatory insurances are highly correlated to the kind of professional activity you are conducting. For instance if you are an electrician then you must take out a civil liability insurance in order to lawfully be able to do your job. These kind of policies are directed at covering your mistakes or those made by your personnel which may cause damage to others, their properties or belongings.
These mandatory civil liability insurances are really helpful in case of accidents because otherwise you would need to respond with your own assets to reimburse the damage compensation. These are also mandatory for self-employed who conduct their business in a premise open to the general population. Without the insurance you will not get the permits for the opening.
If you have some salaried workers then you need to get a so-called seguro de convenio or industrial injury insurance which covers them in case of disability or death by accidents happening at work. Without such an insurance you could face fines up to € 190,000 in the worst cases.
In addition all work-related vehicles need to be insured (as any other vehicle in Spain for that matter) and in this case there are insurances covering vehicle fleets which could be interesting for self-employed workers.
Recommended Insurances for Self-employed Workers
Self-employed workers usually need to take more risks than salaried employees. That is why insurance companies offer competitive price-worthy insurances helping them protect their jobs, themselves and their sources of income.
- Health insurance: although autónomos are also covered by the public social security system many decide to take out a private health insurance directed at self-employed workers. These kind of insurances concede IRPF tax discounts (up to € 500 / year per insuree and admits family members) and are specially aimed at self-employed and freelancers offering more and specialized covers.
- Life insurance: life insurances are really benefitial for everyone. In the case of self-employed workers in Spain by taking out a life insurance they can guarantee their family members a higher payment should something bad happen to them. As an average in Spain a widow of a self-employed worker receives around € 200 /month less than an employee’s. Orphans face a similar situation.
- Accident insurance: depending on your professional field of activity an accident insurance is mandatory. You need to contact an insurance expert like Roberta or Nick at Cogesa Expats to determine if that is your particular situation. In any case it is always convenient and recommended to take out an accident insurance if your profession is deemed high-risk or has higher odds than usual to cause accidents.
- Sick leave insurance: being on a sick leave albeit temporarily can reduce your income to stressful levels. Just so you know in Spain the standard payment for self-employed workers on sick leave is around € 670 / month. That is € 300 less than what an employee of a company would receive. In order to receive this sick leave payments a self-employed worker needs to be part of the RETA and Seguridad Social systems for at least 180 days in the past 5 years and be up-to-date with social security fees. Also there is a limit of 12 months for receiving the sick leave payments that can be extended for another 6 months. A sick leave insurance would help you protect your income during the time when you are not able to work.
- Retirement insurance: due to having contributed less to the system the average self-employed retirement pension is around € 580 a month compared to € 930 for salaried workers. That has to do with the majority of autónomos paying the minimum monthly quota during most of their worklife in Spain. The less paid to the public system the less a self-employed will get on retirement. A retirement insurance or pension plan takes care of that issue by ensuring you a decent income after you retire.
- Third party liability insurance: depending on your professional field of expertise a civil liability insurance could be mandatory. This type of insurance protects you from accidents happening on your premises like fires, customers slipping due to wet floors, etc. A customer claiming a compensation because of an accident caused directly or indirectly by you can be expensive in both money and time. With a civil liability insurance you can get peace of mind about everything related to your work and safety.
Often times to ease the choice of covers insurance companies put some of these insurances together in packages under the general name “self-employed insurance” including the most useful insurances for autónomos. Something to take into account is that some of these insurances may have covers that overlap and you would be paying double as much money for the same cover. So please do contact us to know more about the possibilities when taking out such an insurance.
If you are planning to take out an insurance as an expat in Spain contact us at Cogesa Expats, a renowned Spanish insurance broker established in the country many years ago, and we will help you find the right self-employed insurance meeting your needs. Send us an email, give us a call or just fill the form below and we will get in touch with you as soon as possible.
