Home insurance in Portugal for high-value homes
Villas, estates, townhouses and apartments whose rebuild cost, contents and grounds a retail multi-risk policy was never designed to carry — placed where they are individually underwritten, with the conditions agreed in writing before anything happens. For primary residences and second homes, in Portugal and, to the same standard, in Spain.
Key facts
- Who it is for: homes whose rebuild cost, contents or valuables go beyond what a standard policy was designed for; each specialist insurer sets its own entry level. Below that, a well-built standard policy is usually the better answer, and we say so in writing.
- Proportional rule: we check in writing how each wording applies it and how a total loss is settled.
- Art, jewellery, watches and collections on agreed value, with personal possessions covered away from home, abroad included.
- Individually underwritten with specialist capacity, with the conditions agreed in writing before any claim.
- Portugal and Spain with one adviser; where the insurer writes both countries, on one policy.
- Written opinion. ASF-registered broker no. 425591790/3, not tied to any insurer. We never ask for your total net worth.
Art, jewellery and watches: who insures them and on what terms →
More answers: private client insurance, questions answered →
What we analyse in a high-value home
In a property of real value the right cover is a matter of analysis, not of choosing a product. We look at the house, the way it is used and what is inside it, and only then approach the insurers whose underwriting fits.
Rebuild cost and sums insured
How the cost of rebuilding is established, whether the sums insured are sufficient and whether the policy limits the indemnity in any way — including how underinsurance and the proportional rule would apply.
Fire, flood, storm, earthquake and water
Which natural and accidental perils are covered, on what terms, with which excesses, and what local exposure — coast, river, slope, seismic zone — means for acceptance.
Contents, art, jewellery and collections
Whether contents are insured at a realistic value, which items need to be scheduled, how they are kept and what limits apply per item and in total.
Gardens, pools, outbuildings and equipment
Walls, pools, annexes, garages, solar installations and outdoor equipment: what is part of the building sum and what needs to be declared separately.
Liability, staff and the way the house is run
Liability limits set against the real exposure — guests, domestic staff, contractors, management services — and the cover that each of them may need.
Special properties and ownership structures
Historic or listed houses, unusual construction, properties owned through a company, and several homes in Portugal and Spain that should be insured coherently.
What we need to prepare a proposal
- Address, year of construction and gross area.
- An estimate of the rebuild cost, which we review with you; for Portugal we use the APS SCRIM simulator as a reference.
- Contents and valuables to insure, and how they are kept.
- Security, occupancy and any claims in the last five years.
- Your current policy, if there is one.
We assess the risk, analyse the conditions available and look for the protection that fits. All cover is subject to the insurer’s acceptance of the risk and to the terms of the policy issued.
Insurers and specialist partners
Adler & Rochefort works with insurers and specialist partners in the protection of private wealth, including Hiscox, Chubb, Liberty Mutual, Hispania and Innovarisk. The choice of solution depends on the characteristics of the property, the sums insured, its use and the underwriting conditions available. All cover is subject to the insurer’s acceptance of the risk and to the terms of the policy.
What we insure
Portuguese multi-risk policies are not interchangeable. A wording built for a two-bedroom flat behaves very differently on a clifftop villa with a pool, a quinta with outbuildings, or a house that is empty for eight months of the year. We start from what the property actually is.
Permanent homes
Your main residence in Portugal, whether you own an apartment in Lisbon or a house in the Algarve, with building, contents and family civil liability in a single policy.
Second and holiday homes
Properties occupied part of the year, where the unoccupancy clause, the water shut-off requirement and the key-holder arrangements matter more than the headline premium.
Villas with pools and grounds
Pool plant, boundary walls, outbuildings, garden structures, solar panels and outdoor equipment — the items most standard policies quietly leave out.
Apartments in condominiums
Cover that dovetails with the building’s condominium policy instead of duplicating it, so that a water leak from the flat above is settled without an argument over who insures what.
Rented and Alojamento Local properties
Landlord cover with loss of rent, and AL-specific civil liability for guest-caused damage and injury, declared to the insurer on the correct basis.
Homes with art, jewellery or collections
Architect-designed villas and homes with art, jewellery or wine collections, placed with specialist underwriters on all-risks or agreed-value terms.
The three mistakes that cost owners money
1. Confusing rebuild value with market value
The sum insured on the building should be the cost of rebuilding it, not what you paid for it and not what an estate agent would list it at. Get it wrong on the low side and the proportional rule applies: declare €200,000 on a property that would cost €300,000 to rebuild, and a €30,000 claim is settled at roughly €20,000. The insurer is not being difficult — that is how the contract works.
2. Contents left uninsured or badly out of date
Plenty of policies we review carry a token contents figure set when the property was bought and never revisited, or no contents cover at all. Furniture, appliances, electronics, bicycles, tools and outdoor furniture add up faster than owners expect, and after a fire or a burglary the gap is immediate and painful.
3. Not declaring how the property is really used
Letting it long-term, running it as Alojamento Local, or leaving it closed up for months at a time all change the risk. A policy issued as a permanent residence and claimed on as a holiday let is the single most common reason we see cover reduced or refused. Declaring the real use costs a modest amount more and keeps the claim payable.
How it works
- Tell us about the property. Type, location, how it is used, roughly what it would cost to rebuild. The form below takes about two minutes; if you would rather send us the details on WhatsApp, that works too.
- We place the risk. For a high-value home, with specialist high-net-worth insurers, with an on-site appraisal where the insurer calls for one; for a simpler property, with established multi-risk insurers.
- You receive a written recommendation. A first opinion on your current cover; proposals with conditions, sums insured, sub-limits and excesses set out side by side, in English, with no obligation to proceed.
Request a home insurance review
Tell us about the property and we’ll come back to you with a written comparison. As each proposal is specific and requires a detailed analysis of the risk, response times may vary.
Ask for a quote — it takes under a minute
Leave just the essentials and we will reply in writing. As each proposal is specific and requires a detailed analysis of the risk, response times may vary. We ask for the rest by email.
What we will ask for your quote
After the first contact we ask for these details by email. If you have them to hand, you can send them now to insurance@adlerrochefort.com.
- Full name
- Full address of the property
- Portuguese tax number (NIF)
- Gross construction area
- Year of construction
- Main or second home
- Occupation
- Age
- Buildings sum insured
- Contents sum insured
- Valuables sum insured
By sending this form you agree to us using your details to prepare and discuss your quote, in line with our privacy policy. We never sell your data. Adler & Rochefort is a trading name of Ownizo, Unipessoal Lda., registered in Portugal with the ASF under no. 425591790/3 and in Spain with the DGSFP under the freedom to provide services (LPS).
Thank you
Your request has been received. Our team will get back to you. As each proposal is specific and requires a detailed analysis of the risk, response times may vary.
Frequently asked questions
Will the proportional rule apply to my home?
It depends on the wording and on the sums insured. We set the buildings sum from the rebuild cost and check, in writing, how the proposed wording applies the proportional rule before we recommend it.
Can my homes in Portugal and Spain be on one policy?
Often, yes, where the insurer writes both locations: several residences, their contents and valuables under one policy with a single renewal date. Where that is not possible, we align the policies so that no gap opens between them.
Is home insurance compulsory in Portugal?
Fire cover is compulsory for any autonomous fraction in a horizontal-property building, and every Portuguese mortgage lender requires at least fire cover on the building. In practice almost all owners take a full multi-risk policy, which bundles fire with water damage, theft, storm, civil liability and home assistance.
Should I insure the market value or the rebuild cost of my property?
The rebuild cost — the cost of reconstructing the building, excluding the land. Insuring the purchase price of a coastal villa usually means over-paying, while insuring an old inherited house at its outdated book value usually means under-insurance and the proportional rule cutting your claim. We work the figure out with you before we go to market. See how to work out the rebuild value.
Can I take out a Portuguese home policy if I do not live in Portugal?
Yes. Non-resident owners of second homes, holiday homes and let properties can be insured normally. You will need a Portuguese NIF and the property documents; a Portuguese bank account is convenient for the direct debit but is not always mandatory, depending on the insurer.
Do I have to tell the insurer that I let the property out?
Yes, always. Long-term letting, holiday letting and registered Alojamento Local are different risks from a permanent home, and a policy issued on the wrong basis can be reduced or refused at claim stage. Declaring the real use costs a little more up front and protects the claim.
Will you provide the policy and the claim correspondence in English?
The contractual wording is issued in Portuguese, because that is the language of the contract under Portuguese law. We explain the cover, the sub-limits and the exclusions to you in English, and we run the whole claim with the insurer in Portuguese on your behalf.
Is earthquake cover included in a Portuguese home policy?
Almost never as standard. Earthquake and seismic phenomena are an optional add-on with their own excess, usually a percentage of the sum insured. For most of the Algarve and the Lisbon area we recommend adding it, and we quote it separately so you can see exactly what it costs.
How long does the quote take?
A first written opinion. For a high-value home the full proposal depends on the insurer’s appraisal and normally takes one to two weeks; interim cover can often be arranged in the meantime.
Cover for a specific situation
This page covers the main multi-risk home policy. Where a property is used in a particular way — empty half the year, let to tenants, in an apartment block — the underwriting question changes, and these pages deal with each one directly.
- Second home insurance in Portugal — properties used only part of the year
- Unoccupied property insurance — empty houses, renovations, inherited property
- Apartment insurance — where the condominium policy stops and yours begins
- Earthquake insurance — how to check whether your policy has seismic cover
- Flood and water damage cover — five kinds of water, five different answers
- Landlord insurance in Portugal — if someone else lives in the property
- Rental property insurance — long-term residential lettings
- Holiday rental and Alojamento Local — short stays and paying guests
Read before you buy
Our complete guide to insuring a property in Portugal, plus the articles that answer the questions clients ask us most often.
Also in Spain
A home in Spain as well? It is placed to the same high-value standard, with the same adviser — and, where the insurer writes both countries, on one policy with a single renewal date. One difference worth knowing: in Spain, earthquake, flood and other extraordinary risks are covered through the Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros, funded by a surcharge on every property policy, rather than as an optional cover.
- High-value home insurance in Spain — villas, fincas and apartments, resident or not
- Family liability in Spain — the liability section a Spanish household policy should carry
- Private clients in Spain — homes, collections and family protection reviewed together
Adler & Rochefort is a commercial brand of Ownizo, Unipessoal Lda., registered in Portugal with the ASF under no. 425591790/3 and in Spain with the DGSFP under the freedom to provide services (LPS). General guidance only; conditions, premiums and cover vary by insurer and profile.