But with all the rain recently it has come as a but of a shock compared to the wonderful balmy spring we have had… hopefully if we have the rains now before the Easter break we will have a dry Easter? I personally have family over with grandchildren and am praying for dry sunny weather!!!
SPECIAL OFFERS FROM EU INSURANCE DIRECT
(offers available only till end May)
- 50 euros cash back for any new car insurance policy (or second policy) over 425 euros if paid by direct debit (fully comprehensive cover) or 20 euros fuel voucher if paid by cash or card
- 50 euros cash back for any new home insurance policy over 225 euros if paid by direct debit or 25 euros El Corte Ingles Voucher if paid in cash or by card.
Life cover special offers…. Have you thought about life cover in the past but never done anything about it? Special Offer of 30 euros cashback for all new life insurance policies if paid by direct debit with premiums of 150 euros a year or more. Our policies have an option to include repatriation cover including dealing with all required documentation in English. Typical example of a 56 year old covering 30,000 life cover for less than 20 euros a month. We can tailor your requirements to include critical illness cover or accidental death cover. The minimum monthly contribution used to be 30 but now Liberty have reduced this to just 10 euros a month. Give us a call to quote.
Home Insurance Increased benefits… if you already have home insurance with Liberty we can confirm that they have added an extra benefit to include the unblocking of pipes to a maximum of 300 euros for the Plus version and up to 600 euros for the Premium version. There is no extra cost to these benefits.
Also to remember we can now cover subsidence and landslip with the Premium cover.
Clients with existing policies with Liberty? We often get disgruntled emails back from our clients asking why they dont qualify for the offers… well I believe many clients would have qualified for the cashback offers when they started their plans originally. Also we try and look after our clients at renewal and keep prices low or discount them yearly. The majority of our car insurance policies actually have reduced this year (apart from commercial vehicles) and home insurance policies are index linked each year and therefore there isnt so much as an increase in premium but increase in covers. We also research other companies when looking at renewals to see if we can offer any further discounts or if there is a better policy available, so rest assured we will always search for the best option, cost and cover we can provide.
Liberty Authorised Garages We have in the past mentioned the benefits of using an authorised garage to repair your vehicle in the event of a claim. We know this isnt always possible as it does depend upon where you live. Whenever possible we will search to see if there is an authorised garage in your area. They offer many benefits:-
- Their work is guaranteed for up to 2 years
- They can offer their own courtesy car (if available) without the need to hire a car through your policy
- They wash your car before you collect it
- They can offer 5% on any repairs (not in conjunction with an accident)
- They will come to your home to pick the car up if it is difficult for a client to get to the garage
- The work is not just guaranteed but as they work closely with Liberty you can be guaranteed the best service as well as getting the car back on the road as quickly as possible.
If we can help to provide you with details of the nearest authorised garage in your area let us know.
Accident Plans We have recently had several enquiries about accident plans. Whether it be for just personal accident or self employed people looking to cover themselves in the event of an accident or even sickness benefit should they not be able to work. I can confirm we do offer Accident Plans. Benefits are for a lump sum in the event of accident or accidental death cover, also a daily rate in the event of sickness. If you are interested in such a plan let us know.
Health Insurance Offers!!! We still have offers for Health Insurance with DKV at 25% discount, offer valid only for plans taken out before end April. Second year discount 10% and 3rd year discount 5%. DKV offer an exclusive range of products to cover all budgets with comprehensive cover for both in and out patient treatment all over Spain and emergency cover up to 60 days a year up to 15000 euros in benefit Worldwide. Now has never been a better time if you have been thinking of having the peace of mind of Private Medical Insurance in Spain.
AXA also have several options with and without excesses who also provide excellent cover, sometimes depending on age and gender cheaper than DKV. Offer for a free tablet for any policy taken out over 1200 euros a year, again offer only till end April.
EU Directive and Driving Licences I do have an update with regards to UK European Driving licences. Having investigated at length to see whether we are within the law using our European Licences I can confirm the following:-
It would appear that the EU Directive has tried to regulate and streamline all EU Licences. However as all EU Countries have their own individual rules, this has presented a problem. I have a document which I can send to you in pdf format in English from the DGT which explains everything, let me know if you want a copy. The law is still confusing but from various meetings I have had the following appears to apply:-
Our UK Licence allows us to drive numerous categories of vehicles (cars, motorbikes, lorries etc….!) without the need to take any further test. If you look at your UK licence at the bottom you will see many categories of vehicles we are able to drive. This doesn’t conform with a Spanish licence which does not have all these general categories. Therefore in order to conform with Spanish law Trafico need to log all UK licences if they have been residents of Spain for 2 years or more and have 5 years or more validity on their licence. Any resident with a licence with more than 15 years validity is not valid and has to be changed to Spanish or the paper licence which is not valid in Spain anymore.
It is not necessary to change it to a Spanish licence if we have 5 or more years validity (if under 65). However it has to be logged at Trafico. A medical has to be undertaken and 2 passport photos provided. The UK licence has to be presented to Trafico along with the medical results and photos. They will register your licence and set the validity to 5 years. After 5 years it has to be changed to a Spanish licence.
Unfortunately there are costs involved whether you do it yourself and make the appointment at trafico or use a company to do it for you. If you live near to Mijas Costa there is a company that will handle all the paperwork for you and carry out the medical check. I can provide anyone with their details and costs involved if you are local to the area and want to use their services.
Alternatively I have a pdf file with all the medical centres in Spain offering the medical check. If you want to have a copy just let me know and I can send it to you. I believe the medical test is around 30 euros.
Don’t forget that Trafico now operate an appointment system, an appointment can be made by registering on the website www.dgt.es, an official form can be downloaded from there also.
I hope this clears up the confusion with regards to driving with UK card licences. As most of us living here want to be driving within the law it is necessary to follow the procedures. Of course for all non residents in Spain they are legal to drive here with their UK Card licence (at least at the moment!).
If we can assist with any queries or matters in this newsletter we are more than happy to help, just let us know.
Renewal DocumentationPlease be aware that with renewal documentation we are not supplied with hard copies. We download your documents from the web and send them to you by email as a pdf file. We have so many clients who tell us that they have not received their renewal documents. If you do not have email or have no printer let us know and we will print off your documents in the office and send by post. If you need a Green Card for travelling outside Spain also let us know as although your insurance policy includes an annual green card, they are not automatically supplied at renewal. We can supply them direct from our office
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For all your insurance needs or queries regarding your existing policies please do not hesitate to contact us.
