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Getting Insurance in Portugal

Researched and written with AI tools from official sources. How we make our guides

Which insurance the law requires in Portugal, what your bank will ask for, what is optional, how to buy and cancel a policy, and how to complain.

The Portugal Brief 10 min read

Getting Insurance in Portugal

Last verified: October 2026.

Who this is for

  • You have just moved to Portugal and want to know which insurance you must have.
  • You own or plan to buy a car, a flat, or a house, or you employ someone at home.
  • You want to understand health, life, and travel cover before you buy.

Not for you if: you only want to compare private health policies. Read Choosing Private Health Insurance in Portugal instead.

For most people, the law requires only a few kinds of insurance in Portugal. You need third-party motor insurance for any car or motorbike used on the road. If you own a flat, the building must have fire insurance. If you employ someone, even a cleaner at home, you must insure them against work accidents. A bank that lends you money for a home will also ask for home and life cover. Everything else is your choice. Insurers are supervised by ASF, the insurance regulator, which also handles complaints.

Which insurance the law requires

Your situationInsurance you must have
You own a car or motorbike used on public roadsThird-party liability motor insurance (seguro automóvel)
You own a flat in a building with several ownersFire insurance on your flat and the shared parts
You employ someone, including a cleaner, nanny, or gardenerWork accident insurance (seguro de acidentes de trabalho)
You are self-employedYour own work accident insurance
You run a holiday let (alojamento local)Liability insurance of at least €75,000 per claim

A bank loan is not a legal duty, but it usually comes with conditions. If you take a mortgage, the bank can require home insurance and life insurance (see below).

Car insurance

Who needs it. A car or motorbike normally kept in Portugal may only be used on the road if it has third-party liability cover. A car you rarely drive still needs cover, unless it has been officially withdrawn from use. If your insurer cancels or does not renew the policy, it tells IMT, the transport authority. IMT can then cancel the car's registration unless you show new cover within 15 days.

The minimum cover. Every motor policy must cover at least €6.45 million per accident for injuries and €1.3 million for damage to property.

If you drive without it. Driving a car or motorbike without insurance is a road traffic offence. The fine is €500 to €2,500, you lose 2 points on your licence, and the police can seize the car.

What you can add. Third-party cover pays for harm you cause to others. It does not repair your own car. Insurers sell extra cover, such as own damage (danos próprios), theft, broken glass, and roadside assistance. Prices depend on the car, the driver, and the cover, so ask several insurers for written quotes.

Your claims history. If you were insured before, ask your old insurer for a claims history statement (declaração de historial de sinistros). It covers the last five years, and the insurer must give it to you within 15 days. Portuguese insurers must treat a statement from another EU country the same way as a Portuguese one, including for discounts. They cannot charge you more because of your nationality or where you lived. Each insurer must publish on its website how it uses these statements.

If three insurers refuse you. ASF will place your compulsory policy with an insurer. Use the placement form on ASF's website.

Proof of insurance. You no longer need an insurance sticker on the windscreen. Carry the certificate your insurer gives you, on paper or on your phone. You can check which insurer covers any car by its number plate on ASF's consumer website.

For licences and road rules, see Driving in Portugal. For cover types and claims, see Getting Car Insurance in Portugal and What to Do after a Car Accident in Portugal.

Home insurance

If you own a flat. Fire insurance is compulsory. It must cover each flat and the shared parts, such as the roof and stairs. If the owners do not take it out by the deadline the owners' meeting sets, the building manager must do it and charge them. This cover protects the building, not your furniture or your liability to neighbours. See How a Condominium (Condomínio) Works in Portugal.

If you own a house outright, no law makes you insure it.

If you rent, the building is the owner's responsibility. The owner's policy does not cover your belongings or the damage you might cause to others. A contents and liability policy does. Check your lease, as it may ask for insurance.

Most people buy a multi-risk home policy (seguro multirriscos habitação). It can cover fire, water damage, storms, theft, broken glass, and your liability to neighbours. Check whether it covers earthquakes. If not, ask whether you can add that cover.

Set the right sum insured. Insure the building for what it would cost to rebuild, not for the price you paid. If you insure for less than the real value, the insurer pays only in proportion, unless the policy says otherwise. Insure for half the value, and you get about half of any claim.

For claims, the sum insured, and switching, see Getting Home Insurance in Portugal.

Insurance your bank will ask for

If you buy a home with a mortgage, the bank can require:

  • home insurance on the property, covering at least the risks the bank sets; and
  • life insurance, so the loan is paid off if you die, and often if you become permanently disabled.

You can choose your own insurer. The bank must accept a policy from another insurer if the cover is equivalent to what it asks for. The bank may offer a lower spread on your loan if you buy its own policy. Work out whether that saving beats a cheaper policy elsewhere. If you later drop the bank's product, the spread can go up. See Getting a Mortgage in Portugal.

The right to be forgotten (direito ao esquecimento). If you had a serious illness or a disability of 60% or more and have overcome it, you may not have to mention it. This applies to insurance linked to a loan, such as mortgage life cover. The insurer cannot then raise your premium or exclude cover because of it. The usual waits are:

  • 10 years after the end of treatment;
  • 5 years after the end of treatment, if the illness ended before you turned 21;
  • 2 years of continuous, effective treatment, if the condition is controlled rather than overcome.

Shorter waits apply to some cancers. ASF's consumer website explains the rules and links to the official table.

Health insurance

Private health insurance (seguro de saúde) is optional for residents. Once you live here legally, you can register with the public health service, the SNS. See Healthcare in Portugal.

Points to know before you buy:

  • For a residence visa, such as the D7 or D8, the consulate asks for travel insurance that covers medical costs, urgent care, and medical repatriation.
  • Waiting periods. For conditions you already have, the law caps any waiting period at one year.
  • Tax relief. If you pay income tax here, you can deduct 15% of your health costs, including premiums for health-only policies, within a €1,000 household limit.
  • A health plan (plano de saúde) is not insurance. It is usually a discount card and does not pay your bills.
  • Public sector workers can join ADSE, the public sector health scheme, for 3.5% of gross pay. See Joining ADSE, the Public Sector Health Scheme in Portugal.

Travel insurance and the European card

If you are covered by the Portuguese system, Segurança Social issues a free European Health Insurance Card. It gives you state healthcare on a temporary stay in another EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, or the UK. It does not cover private care or flights home, and it is not a replacement for travel insurance. See Getting a European Health Insurance Card in Portugal.

If you employ someone at home

The work accidents law covers anyone who works for someone else, including domestic workers. The employer must pass this risk to an authorised insurer. Insure your employee before they start. Their payslip must name the insurer. If you declare less pay than you really pay, the insurer pays only on the declared amount, and you must pay the difference yourself. See Claiming for a Work Accident in Portugal.

How to buy a policy

You can buy directly from an insurer, through an insurance intermediary (mediador), or at a bank that sells another company's policies.

  1. Check the company is authorised. ASF keeps public registers of insurers and intermediaries. A bank often sells a policy under its own name, so check which insurer carries the risk.
  2. Ask for written quotes with the same cover and the same excess (franquia), the part of each claim you pay yourself.
  3. Answer the insurer's questions truthfully. The law says you must disclose everything you know that matters to the risk, even if the form does not ask. A wrong answer can cost you a claim.
  4. Read the policy, not only the summary, before you sign. Check the exclusions and limits.

Cooling off, renewal, and cancelling

  • Cooling off. You can cancel a life, personal accident, or health policy of six months or more within 30 days of receiving it, without a reason. For other policies bought online or by phone, the period is 14 days. Travel and baggage insurance are excluded.
  • Renewal. A one-year policy renews automatically, unless the contract says otherwise. Prices can change at renewal, so compare quotes each year.
  • Stopping renewal. Send the insurer a written notice at least 30 days before the renewal date.
  • Mortgage policies. Arrange the new policy first and make sure the bank accepts it. Then cancel the old one.

If you need to complain

  1. Complain to the insurer in writing. Every insurer must have a complaints department.
  2. Go to the insurer's customer ombudsman (provedor do cliente) if the complaints department does not solve it.
  3. Complain to ASF. Use the online complaints form on ASF's consumer website. ASF's information line is 217 983 983, on working days from 09:00 to 16:00. Visits are by appointment only.

You can also use the complaints book (Livro de Reclamações). See How to File a Consumer Complaint in Portugal.

This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. It does not recommend any insurer. Check your policy and the official sources before you act.

Sources

This guide is written from official sources and, where relevant, organisations' own websites.

Last verified October 2026. Rules and fees change; check the official source before acting.

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