Condominium Insurance

At C1 Broker you will find the best solution for your condominium or building insurance in Portugal.

We are your partner in Multi-risk insurance for Condominiums in PORTUGAL

At C1 Broker, we have several protection solutions for your building with various condominium multi-risk insurances, which not only meet the legal requirements for fire insurance, but also offer a series of coverages so that you can rest assured and live in peace with your neighbours. In the event of condominium accidents, C1 Broker provides a personalised manager in charge of claims management. Our partners are the best insurance companies in Portugal: Allianz, Zurich, Fidelidade, Liberty, Hiscox, etc… to offer you the best price with the seal of quality. We guarantee a professional and reliable service.

Specialised insurance for your homeowners' association

At C1 Broker, we analyse and compare condominium insurance solutions from the leading insurance companies in Portugal in order to be able to offer you, in a neutral and professional manner, innovative and competitive insurance, geared to the needs and size of your building or residential complex.

If you live in a residential building or condominium complex, you will need multi-risk insurance to safeguard the risks involving buildings under horizontal property regime. With this insurance you guarantee the protection of the common parts, as well as the autonomous fractions. And it will make it much easier for you and your neighbours to live together…

Condominium multi-risk insurance, in addition to complying with the legal obligation of Fire Insurance for buildings in horizontal property regime, includes a set of additional coverages, for example, assistance to the Condominium in the event of an accident, cover in the event of theft or robbery, machinery and lift breakdown or legal protection, among others.

The Portuguese condominium insurance market is quite complete and complex.

  • Complete because there are more than twenty insurers offering condominium multi-risk insurance policies.
  • Complex, because within each insurer, the offer is flexible, with different levels of cover and with and without excesses.

Furthermore, depending on the marketing strategy of each company, some present quotations or insurance proposals with a long list of covers and others with a shorter list. This does not mean that companies with shorter lists do not include covers, they simply choose to be more succinct in presenting the characteristics of the product so as not to confuse the client. You should always consult the IPC or the General Conditions to find out what is included in the covers or consult an Insurance Broker such as C1 Broker, who will know how to guide you with experience and wisdom acquired over more than 26 years.

Condominium Insurance: choose with or without excess?

When choosing condominium multi-risk insurance, another point to bear in mind is whether or not excesses apply. Obviously, and in theory, from the consumer’s point of view, it is best to take out policies with no excesses or very low excesses. This means that in the event of a claim, whether small or large, you can rest assured that you will not have to pay any additional money. However, policies with no excesses are significantly more expensive and few neighbours will agree to pay that much for a comprehensive policy with no excesses.

Ideally, therefore, you will find a solution that balances a lower annual condominium policy premium with deductibles on some of the covers. These excesses make the condominium share in the event of a claim, either in a fixed amount (usually the excesses are low, between 500 and 200 euros per claim) or as a percentage of the total value of the claim (5%, 10%, or 20%) but they reduce the total value of the policy exponentially. 

There are covers, such as seismic phenomena, which have a minimum compulsory excess of 5%.

Choose the best Condominium Insurance with confidence

Yes, in Portugal it is compulsory to insure buildings under horizontal property regime – both autonomous fractions and common parts – against the risk of fire. This coverage is found through condominium insurance. By law, all buildings in horizontal property regime need to contract a fire insurance, but if you opt for a multi-risk insurance with additional coverage you can simplify the resolution of claims.

These are some of the covers you can find in condominium policies available in Portugal. The inclusion or not of these covers depends on the degree of cover taken out (basic or more comprehensive):

  • Fire and damage caused
  • Damage arising from heat, smoke, steam or explosion as a result of fire;
  • Removals or destruction carried out by order of the competent authority or carried out for rescue purposes, as a result of the fire.
  • Landslides;
  • Impact or crash of land vehicles and animals;
  • Damage to plumbing and underground installations;
  • Damage to the condominium contents;
  • Water damage;
  • Demolition and removal of rubble;
  • Accidental spillage of hydraulic systems of fire protection installations;
  • Assistance to the condominium;
  • Fire, lightning and explosion;
  • Floods;
  • Search and repair of breakdowns;
  • Breakage of glass and marble stones;
  • Break or fall of antennas
  • Break or fall of solar panels;
  • Fall of aircrafts;
  • Civil liability for buildings;
  • Electrical risks;
  • Storms;
  • Strikes and vandalism;
  • Adaptation of the building due to condominium members’ disability;
  • Machinery breakdown;
  • Aesthetic damage;
  • Damage to the property (through theft or attempted theft)
  • Temporary deprivation of use;
  • Reconstitution of documents;
  • Reconstitution of gardens;
  • Acts of terrorism;
  • Seismic phenomena;
  • Breakage and fall of illuminated signs

The amount of insurance depends on the number of fractions that make up the horizontal property, the size of the building, the number of common areas and the existence or not of recreational areas such as swimming pools, lifts, gyms, etc, and also the coverage chosen. You can pay the amount of your insurance annually, half-yearly, quarterly or monthly.

Most insurers update the value of the condominium insurance, at the time of contract renewal after analysing the number of claims that the condominium had during the year and updating the amount of capital insured. C1 Broker can help you find the best solution for your condominium insurance in Portugal. Ask us for your simulation now!

All insurances contain a list of inclusions (what is covered) and exclusions (what is not covered by that policy). Multi-risk insurances are no exception and also have their exclusions. Here we present the most common ones, which are common to all the insurance companies dedicated to condominium multi-risk insurance in Portugal. However, you should always consult the contractual documents relating to your policy to confirm that there are no changes to the list we present here:

  • War, invasion, hostilities or warlike operations, civil war, insurrection, rebellion or revolution;
  • Military uprising or act of legitimate or usurped military power;
  • Confiscation, requisition, destruction or damage produced to the insured property by order of the government, in law or in fact, or of any instituted authority;
  • Explosion, heat release and irradiations arising from the fission of atoms or radioactive and also those arising from radiations caused by the artificial acceleration of particles;
  • Fire arising from seismic phenomena, unless this cover is taken out;
  • Malicious acts or omissions by the Policy Holder, the Insured or by persons for whom they are civilly responsible;
  • Loss of profit or similar loss;
  • Loss, theft or robbery of the insured property, during or following any covered loss;
  • Repair, removal, use or exposure to asbestos and its derivatives;
  • Pollution or contamination of any kind;
  • Intentional acts or omissions, carried out by the Insured or persons for whom he/she is civilly responsible, with the aim of producing a damage;

When an accident occurs between the condominium and the apartment owners, the question arises whether it is covered by the condominium insurance. Some policies have limited liability coverage and consider that the apartment owners are not third parties, i.e. they are automatically excluded from coverage.  This situation occurs in basic policies or policies with limited coverage. In contrast, comprehensive condominium multi-risk insurance policies have extended general liability coverage with cross liability, or include in the definition of the scope of coverage that the unit-holders will be considered third parties in the event of claims between the condominium and the units or their owners.
When we analyse and compare condominium multi-risk insurance from different insurance companies for our clients, this is an issue we always pay attention to.

Example of a claim: Imagine that one of the neighbours is walking in the common area and falls on a ceiling lamp, suffers an injury and needs medical assistance. If the cross liability is not contracted or if the insurance excludes the condominium members from civil liability, the claim of the injured neighbour will not be covered by the insurance, but it will still be the Condominium’s responsibility and will have to be paid by the neighbours. In summary, to avoid unpleasant situations, it is preferable to contract your Condominium policy with an insurance broker such as C1 Broker, who are familiar with the most frequent limitations and problems. Choosing the right policy and with the right guarantees will provide you with peace of mind, saving you from several unexpected surprises.

Shall we talk? We will contact you to offer you the best condominium insurance.

C1 Broker ®, Insurance Broker, we work with a selection of the best Insurance Companies in Portugal: