Protecting Your Greece Property!

The earthquake of September 7th 1999, which rocked Athens with a magnitude of 5.9 on the Richter scale, became Greece’s costliest natural disaster, with an estimated damage repair bill of £400 million pounds.

Countries with intense seismic activity like Greece will continue to be struck by earthquakes. But improved workmanship, higher building standards, upgraded seismic studies and compliance with the building codes have all reduced the risk to bot property and people.

However, it is clear that anyone buying in Greece should make a particular point of checking that their Building and Contents Insurance covers them for physical loss and damage caused by earthquakes, as well as the more standard circumstances such as fire, lightning, explosions, storm, flood or weight of snow. Yes snow: it snowed in 2007...!

Here are some do's and don'ts to protecting your property in Greece:

• Do take time to assess the property for access and accident points. It is well worth taking 15 minutes to walk around your property and to put yourself in the mindset of a burglar. Where are the weak points? What areas can a burglar exploit? Once these areas have been highlighted take steps to secure them – burglars will always move on to a less well protected property. If you rent out your home, have a look and see if there are any obvious accident hotspots.
  
• Do get to know your neighbours – if you own a holiday home in a popular tourist area, it is likely that you will be neighbours to other holiday home owners. It is a good idea to get to know them and ask them to keep an eye on your property whilst you are away.
  
• Don’t be pressured into buying local insurance – the danger is that as each country has its own specific insurance peculiarities, the cover you buy from a local insurer may not match your expectations. Make sure you understand what you are paying for - what is seen as standard cover in UK policies is often restricted or simply excluded from local policies... In France, for example, theft cover is often restricted if a home is unoccupied for more that 90 consecutive days – not much use for a holiday home that may only be occupied a couple of months a year! Policies in Spain often provide only £200,000 of liability cover, which is not enough should a guest suffer bodily injury, for example in a swimming pool accident.
  
• Make sure your insurance company can provide your policy and claims support in English. It’s stressful enough dealing with a problem and making a claim without also being worried about the small print on your policy due to language barriers.
  
• Don’t hide keys under a flowerpot or under the front mat for holiday makers who will be renting your property – they will always be found by thieves. Surrounding flower pots and mats are the first place that thieves look in. Seek out the help of a neighbour or local agent you trust.

Should you consider buying Insurance in the UK or in Greece?

One of the first questions people ask is should they use a UK insurance company or broker or is it better to insure abroad where you have bought the property? Simply, there is no right or wrong answer – you can use either route but there are some important things to consider.

Inevitably one of the biggest issues to consider is the language. It is important to know what your insurance policy covers - if, for example, you have bought a property in Greece but aren’t fluent in Greek then it might be difficult to understand exactly what cover you are buying. It may be better to use a UK based insurer or broker where you can understand the language, receive documentation in English, pay the premiums and receive any claims payments in sterling.

Cost is usually an important consideration when buying insurance - many local insurance policies tend to be cheaper than products offered by UK insurers. But a word of caution - however tempting it is to try and save a few pounds on the cost of insurance you should balance this by looking at the detail of the cover you will receive and the reliability of the form you are using - perhaps ask neighbours what they have done?

How much should you insure your property in Greece for?

You should insure for the rebuilding cost of your property – this is often less than the market value of the property. You should always allow for the cost of rebuilding all outbuildings, swimming pools plus gates and fences.

Don’t be tempted to cut corners and insure for less than the true value of rebuilding – if you have to make a claim then your insurer may not settle your claim in full if you haven’t insured for the correct amount.

If you are having trouble working out how much you should insure for then a local builder or surveyor may be able to help you. If you had a survey undertaken when you purchased the property it is worth checking the paperwork – it may have included an insurance valuation. If you are going to have a survey done it may be a good idea to ask for this.

If you have an apartment contained within a complex or apartment block then you may have some building insurance cover included within your condominium fees. However, if there is insurance included then be sure to check the detail – often cover only extends to include communal areas such as entrance halls and swimming pools. Kitchen units and fitted wardrobes within your own apartment are very rarely covered.

Letting Your Property?

You should be aware that some local policies will contain exclusions if you are letting out your property.

You may find that most policies will provide some level of cover if you are letting your property – but check the details carefully – some policies will not cover damage caused by tenants.

Cover for loss of rent is particularly important if you are using rental income to contribute towards mortgage repayments or if your property is operated on a commercial basis. Make sure the insurance is sufficient so that if your property suffers damage and it is not possible to let the property, you will be covered for loss of rental earnings.

Alternative accommodation costs are also covered by a number of policies. This means that if the property in uninhabitable, you or your guests can claim the cost of renting a similar home or stay in hotel.

We have a very good contact that helps people with overseas property insurance. Please fill out our resource form.

And to get all the information regarding buying in Greece, get the Greece Buying Guide.