29 min read
The house in the Algarve is lived in for a few weeks in spring and again in autumn; in between, the shutters stay closed. A neighbour looks in now and then, the cleaner has a key, and in summer friends or paying guests may stay there. That is what a holiday home in Portugal looks like for many owners who live abroad most of the year, and it is exactly the situation holiday home insurance in Portugal has to fit.
The policy terms of Fidelidade and Generali, which we examined for this guide, treat exactly this kind of use differently from a main home. If your house is lived in for no more than 90 days a year, those terms treat it as a second home. Above all, that brings limits on jewellery and cash. On top of that come points that matter especially in an empty house: burglary, keys in other people’s hands and letting.
This guide shows what to look out for when you get holiday home insurance in Portugal, where the gaps are and how to find them in your own policy. It is based on the current policy terms of Fidelidade (Fidelidade Casa Mais, September 2026) and Generali (Multirrisco Casa, July 2025) and on the Portuguese Insurance Contract Act. The documents are linked where they are used.
- A house you live in for no more than 90 days per calendar year is a second home under the Fidelidade and Generali terms (residência não permanente). Tighter limits apply to it than to a main home.
- Theft is covered by Fidelidade and Generali only in specific circumstances, mainly a break-in, climbing in, false keys or robbery. Theft from a house that was not locked is not covered by Fidelidade unless specially agreed.
- Jewellery and other items of precious metal in an empty holiday home are not insured against theft by Fidelidade unless specially agreed, and cash there not at all.
- At Generali, cash is not part of the insured property; only a separate module covers the robbery of cash. With the Premium option, valuables not listed individually in a second home are limited to 15 percent of the contents sum insured and 1,000 EUR per item.
- If someone you have entrusted with the keys steals, Fidelidade does not pay. Generali excludes theft by family members and by people linked to you by an employment contract or a business partnership. Theft by tenants is excluded in both.
- An alarm system declared in the proposal must be switched on while you are away. Otherwise Fidelidade reduces the payout in proportion to the premiums.
- With Fidelidade and Generali, the liability cover of the home insurance excludes damage from commercial or professional activity at the house. Letting to holiday guests is likely to count as such; clarify this in writing before the first guest arrives. For alojamento local (registered holiday rental) the law requires separate liability cover of at least 75,000 EUR per claim.
- You must report an increase in risk, such as starting to let the house, within 14 days, and a claim within 8 days of becoming aware of it unless the policy sets a different deadline.
When is your house a holiday home under the policy?
A house in Portugal that is lived in for no more than 90 days per calendar year counts as a second home with Fidelidade and Generali. Both sets of policy terms use almost the same wording. Fidelidade defines a residência não permanente ou habitação secundária as the building or unit named in the condições particulares “que não seja habitado pelo Segurado por um período superior a 90 dias, consecutiva ou interpoladamente, dentro de cada ano civil”, in Fidelidade’s own English translation: “which is not inhabited by the Insured for more than 90 consecutive or interrupted days in each calendar year” (Fidelidade Casa Mais, Condições Gerais MR011, September 2026, definitions).
Generali uses the same rule, with “noventa (90) dias” (Generali Multirrisco Casa, Condições Gerais Mod. 465.031, July 2025, definitions k and l). Fidelidade notes that its English text is a non-binding translation; only the Portuguese wording is legally binding. This is how we read the wording of both documents, but it is not entirely unambiguous, so ask your insurer to confirm in writing how your house is classified.
Why the figure has to be in the policy
Whether your house is insured as a main home or a second home is stated in the condições particulares, the policy schedule with your personal details. If that does not match how you actually use the house, the insurer may reduce its payment in a claim under the rules on negligently inaccurate risk information (Fidelidade Cláusula 5.ª, Generali Cláusula 6.ª). If you used to live in Portugal and now spend most of the year back home, have this checked.
If you have more than one habitual residence, Fidelidade and Generali do not treat the one you live in for no more than 90 days per calendar year as your main home. A flat in London or Dublin and a house in the Algarve where you spend eight weeks a year therefore mean a main home abroad and a second home in Portugal.
Vacancy: the limits the policy terms set
With Fidelidade and Generali, an empty holiday home is not uninsured, but tighter limits apply to valuables, cash and individual parts of the building than in an occupied main home. The two sets of terms approach this from different angles.
Fidelidade: jewellery and precious metal only while someone lives in the house
Unless otherwise agreed in the condições particulares, Fidelidade’s theft cover excludes, among other things, what is kept in a second home while nobody lives there: “De valores, objetos de ouro, prata ou outros metais preciosos, bem como as peles de agasalho, armas e coleções, existentes em residência não permanente, salvo quando a residência se encontrar habitada”. That means valores, which the policy terms define as coins and banknotes, bullion, unworked precious metals and securities, as well as items of gold, silver and other precious metals, including jewellery, fur coats, guns and collections. Cash in an unoccupied second home is also expressly excluded, and this exclusion is not subject to any different agreement (chapter III, Furto ou Roubo, exclusions 1 g and 2 c).
For a main home, Fidelidade draws the line at 30 days: if it is unoccupied for more than 30 consecutive days, valores, items of precious metal and coin or stamp collections are covered only in a safe that is built into the wall, fixed to the floor or weighs more than 150 kg. This matters to you if your house in Portugal is your main home and you spend a longer period abroad in summer.
Generali: lower limit for valuables in a second home
With the Premium option, Generali limits so-called objetos especiais, such as jewellery, art and electronics, that are not listed individually with their value to 15 percent of the contents sum insured and no more than 1,000 EUR per item in a second home. In a main home, the figures are 30 percent and 1,500 EUR (definition t). Without the Premium option this category does not apply; the limits for jewellery and valuables are then set out in your condições particulares. Under Generali’s definition of insured movable property, cash is expressly not included; a separate optional module (Roubo de valores) covers only the robbery of cash, not theft. If you keep a valuable watch, jewellery or a painting in the holiday home, have those items listed individually with their value.
For damage to the building caused by theft, Generali sets a second limit: if the cover for damage to the building caused by theft is taken out, the forcible theft of individual building parts, for example pipes or lights, is covered up to 2 percent of the sum for that cover and no more than 7,500 EUR. For “Habitações secundárias”, exactly this case is excluded.
| Item | Fidelidade Casa Mais (09/2026) | Generali Multirrisco Casa (07/2025) |
|---|---|---|
| When is the house a second home? | occupied no more than 90 days per calendar year | occupied no more than 90 days per calendar year |
| Jewellery and valuables in an unoccupied second home | precious metal, jewellery, furs, guns, collections not insured against theft unless specially agreed | with Premium option, if not listed individually, up to 15 % of contents sum, max. 1,000 EUR per item; otherwise per condições particulares |
| Cash in an unoccupied second home | excluded | not part of the insured contents; robbery only with a separate module |
| Money, securities, precious metal in a vacant main home | over 30 consecutive days only in a safe | no such day limit found |
| Theft of individual building parts | no separate rule for second homes found | excluded in a second home |
| Theft by key holders | excluded | excluded for family members and people with an employment or business link |
| Theft by tenants | excluded | excluded |
The table compares two sets of policy terms, not the whole market. Other insurers set different limits, and much of this is negotiable. At Fidelidade, the list of valuables exclusions is expressly subject to “Salvo convenção em contrário, constante das Condições Particulares”, that is, unless the condições particulares agree otherwise.
Burglary: when theft is covered
Theft from a holiday home is covered under the two sets of policy terms examined only in specific circumstances: if the thief breaks in, climbs in or uses false keys, uses violence against a person, and at Fidelidade also if they get into the locked house unlawfully or hide inside it. At Generali, the scope of cover (Cláusula 1.ª n.º 2 b) also mentions unlawful entry or hiding, but the definition (Cláusula 2.ª) only accepts a furto “quando o mesmo for praticado através de arrombamento, escalamento ou chaves falsas”, that is, when committed by breaking in, climbing in or using false keys. How Generali treats a door that was only pulled shut is not clear from the wording; ask for written confirmation. Generali explains the first three terms on the cards as follows:
Arrombamentobreak-in
A lock or mechanism meant to prevent entry is broken, fractured or destroyed in whole or in part.
Escalamentoclimbing in
The thief gets in over a roof, window, wall or door that is supposed to keep them out.
Chaves falsasfalse keys
Copied or altered keys, lock picks, or genuine keys that have left the rightful holder’s control by chance, for example by being lost, or surreptitiously.
Unlocked doornot covered
Fidelidade excludes theft from buildings that are not bolted or locked, unless otherwise agreed. At Generali, the case is not clearly settled by the wording.
For a holiday home this means: if you only pull the patio door shut when you leave, you put your theft cover at risk. Fidelidade names the case expressly: unless otherwise agreed, theft “em edifícios ou frações não trancadas ou fechadas à chave”, from buildings or units that are not bolted or locked, is not covered.
Garden, terrace and storeroom
Anything kept outside is covered against theft only to a limited extent or not at all by either insurer. Generali excludes movable property in annexes that are not fully enclosed, gardens, courtyards and on balconies; Fidelidade excludes property kept outside and in garages or storerooms that are not fully closed off by doors or gates. Garden furniture, a barbecue or a bicycle under the carport are therefore a typical uncovered case. At Generali, jewellery and valuables in garages and storerooms outside the home are never covered.
For theft from a holiday home, what decides first is how the thief got in and who they are, and only then the value of what was taken.
A door only pulled shut, a key under the flowerpot or jewellery in the bedroom: under the Fidelidade and Generali terms, these points decide whether a theft is covered at all.
The key with the property manager
If you give your key to a property manager, a cleaner or a neighbour, Fidelidade may not cover theft by that very person. Fidelidade excludes theft and robbery “de que sejam autores ou cúmplices empregados do Tomador do Seguro ou do Segurado, bem como qualquer pessoa a quem tenham sido confiadas as chaves do edifício ou fração”, in its own English version: “in which the employees of the Policyholder or the Insured, or any person to whom the keys to the building or building unit have been entrusted, are the perpetrators or accessories”.
This does not exclude every theft as soon as someone else holds a key. If a stranger breaks in while the property manager keeps the spare key, the cover remains. What is excluded is the case where the key holder steals or helps to steal. Generali’s exclusion goes less far: it covers perpetrators linked to the insured “por laços de sociedade ou contrato de trabalho”, that is business partners and employees. A self-employed property manager is not named there expressly; ask your insurer how such a person is treated.
Lost key: change the locks
Fidelidade also excludes theft that follows a failure to replace the locks after the house keys were stolen or lost, and theft after keys were left, even temporarily, in the door or in another place accessible to anyone. A key under the flowerpot for the cleaner is therefore a risk you carry yourself.
Assume a holiday home with the Premium option and a contents sum insured of 30,000 EUR. In the bedroom there is a watch worth 3,000 EUR and jewellery worth 2,500 EUR, neither listed individually in the policy. There is a break-in while you are away and both are gone.
| Item | Value | Limit in a second home | Maximum paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watch | 3,000 EUR | 1,000 EUR per item | 1,000 EUR |
| Jewellery | 2,500 EUR | 1,000 EUR per item | 1,000 EUR |
| Total | 5,500 EUR | 15 % of 30,000 EUR = 4,500 EUR, no effect in this example | 2,000 EUR |
Calculated without any excess. Treating the jewellery as one item is a simplification; in a claim each piece counts separately. With Fidelidade, jewellery made of precious metal in an unoccupied second home would not be insured against theft at all unless specially agreed.
Alarm and water: duties while you are away
An alarm system you declared in the proposal must be switched on at Fidelidade whenever the house is unoccupied, even temporarily. The terms oblige the insured to keep declared security systems, or those the insurer has confirmed, in working order. A separate sentence covers vacancy: “Estando o local de risco desocupado, ainda que temporariamente, sem que tenham sido ativados os referidos meios, a indemnização eventualmente devida será reduzida na proporção entre o prémio efetivamente cobrado e aquele que seria devido sem os referidos meios de prevenção e ou segurança.” (Cláusula 23.ª n.º 6).
The consequence is a reduction, not a total loss of cover. You are paid the share that corresponds to the ratio between the premium actually charged and the premium that would have been due without the alarm.
Assume the annual premium with alarm is 300 EUR and would have been 400 EUR without it. A break-in at the empty house causes 8,000 EUR of damage, and the alarm was not switched on when you left. The payout is reduced in the ratio 300 to 400, that is to 75 percent: at most 6,000 EUR is paid and you bear 2,000 EUR yourself. Calculated without any excess; the amounts are assumptions that show the calculation.
Water: turn off the main tap
A sudden burst pipe in the empty house is covered by the water damage cover in both sets of terms, if that cover was taken out. A tap left running is covered by the two sets of terms examined only by way of exception: Generali excludes damage from taps left open except when the water supply failed; Fidelidade covers it only if the supply failed through no fault of yours and the supplier confirms this, or a confirmed power cut was the cause. Fidelidade also excludes leaks through walls, ceilings, doors, windows and terraces, unless they result directly from a burst pipe. Turning off the water main when you leave prevents the open-tap case and limits the damage if something does happen.
A severe storm while you are away is a separate topic with its own deadlines. What home insurance pays in that case and how to report the damage from abroad is covered in our guide to storm damage in Portugal.
Letting: family, holiday guests, long-term tenants
Whether the liability cover of your home insurance applies when you let others use your holiday home depends, with Fidelidade and Generali, mainly on whether you let it to holiday guests. Family and friends staying free of charge are something different from a commercial activity, and separate exclusions apply to long-term tenants.
Family and friendsfree of charge
Letting children, parents or friends stay without payment is not a commercial activity, so that exclusion does not apply. Others remain: damage suffered by family members themselves is excluded from the building liability cover in both sets of terms, as is theft by family members. Check whom your policy names as insured persons.
Holiday guestsfor payment
Registered holiday letting is likely to count as a profit-making activity. In its building liability cover, Fidelidade excludes damage caused by a “atividade profissional, comercial ou industrial” at the insured property, and Generali does the same.
Long-term tenantstenancy
With long-term letting, theft by current or former tenants is excluded in both sets of terms, as is vandalism by tenants, at Generali expressly including arson. Fidelidade insures loss of rent after a claim as a separate module if there is a valid tenancy agreement.
Holiday letting: the compulsory insurance
If you register your house as alojamento local and let it to holiday guests, Artigo 13.º-A of Decreto-Lei n.º 128/2014 requires liability insurance covering bodily injury and property damage to guests and third parties. The minimum is 75,000 EUR per claim, and missing insurance is a ground for cancelling the registration (Artigo 13.º-A as republished with Decreto-Lei n.º 128/2014 by Decreto-Lei n.º 76/2024). Which insurance suits a holiday rental is covered in detail in our article Which local accommodation insurance in Portugal is right for me?, and for houses with a pool in our guide to pool liability in Portugal. Larger properties and villas with several units need their own solutions, see insurance for hotels and local accommodation in Portugal.
If you start letting a house you previously used privately, you change the risk the insurer accepted. Tell your insurer in writing before the first guest arrives. Whether it adjusts the policy or requires a separate one is its decision. Without timely notice it may reduce its payment in a claim, and if it never insures such risks, it may refuse to pay altogether.
Reporting increased risk and claims: 14 and 8 days
The Portuguese Insurance Contract Act (Lei do Contrato de Seguro, LCS, Decreto-Lei n.º 72/2008) sets two deadlines that holiday home owners from abroad often do not expect. You must report an increase in risk within 14 days of becoming aware of it, meaning any circumstance that would have influenced the insurer’s decision to accept the contract or its terms (Artigo 93.º, Decreto-Lei n.º 72/2008).
If a loss occurs before the policy is adjusted and you did not report the increase in time, the insurer reduces its payment in the ratio between the premium paid and the premium that would have been due for the actual risk. If you kept quiet with intent to gain an advantage, it may refuse to pay altogether. The same applies if you caused the increase yourself and the insurer shows that it never insures such risks. Both sets of terms say so, Generali in Cláusula 8.ª and Fidelidade in Cláusula 7.ª.
Reporting a claim from abroad
You report a claim to the insurer within the deadline in your policy, or, if it sets none, within 8 days of becoming aware of it (Artigo 100.º, Decreto-Lei n.º 72/2008). Fidelidade and Generali require written notice no more than 8 days after the date of the incident or the date you became aware of it. Reporting late risks a reduction based on the harm this causes the insurer, not on the premium ratio. Important for a holiday home: at Fidelidade and Generali this consequence does not apply if the insurer learned of the claim by other means, or if you show that you could not reasonably have reported it earlier (Cláusula 23.ª and 22.ª respectively, each n.º 3 and 4). So keep a note of when and how you learned of the damage.
aware
Damage discovered
Take photos, do not tidy up and do not alter any traces the insurer may need to see. Only secure what prevents further damage.
police
Police report for theft
Report theft and burglary to the police (GNR or PSP) as soon as possible and send proof of the report to the insurer.
notice
Written notice to the insurer
Describe the circumstances, possible cause and consequences. If you only know of the damage from others, still report it in time and send photos later.
How a claim works in Portugal step by step is explained in our article with tips for a smooth home insurance claim.
Holiday apartment in a condomínio and pets in the holiday home
For a holiday apartment in a residential block, fire insurance of the building is compulsory in Portugal. The Código Civil states: “É obrigatório o seguro contra o risco de incêndio do edifício, quer quanto às fracções autónomas, quer relativamente às partes comuns.” Fire insurance of the building is compulsory, both for the individual units and the common parts. The owners must take it out; if they do not do so within the deadline set by the owners’ meeting, the administrator takes it out and recovers the premium from them (Artigo 1429.º Código Civil).
This obligation covers only fire damage to the building. Your contents, water damage in your apartment, theft and your liability towards neighbours are not insured by it. Ask the administrator which policy the condomínio has, and add what is missing. On the announced general obligation to insure residential property, read our article Home insurance in Portugal is becoming compulsory.
The dog in the holiday home
A dog that stays with you in the holiday home is, on the wording of Fidelidade’s family liability cover, tied to the main home. Damage caused by the insured’s pets that are not classified as dangerous and not kept for profit is included “desde que com ele coabitem na residência permanente”, that is, provided they live with the insured at the permanent residence. Whether a bite in the holiday home is covered if your main home is abroad is not answered expressly by the policy terms. Generali’s family liability cover excludes damage arising from owning or keeping animals of any kind (“Propriedade ou detenção de animais de qualquer espécie”). For dogs and cats, Generali has a separate liability module that only covers animals living at the insured home. Have this clarified in writing before your next trip, and check whether your household liability or pet-owner liability cover at home applies abroad.
Portugal versus what many owners expect
One feature of Portuguese cover that is easy to overlook is that the law and the policy terms work with fixed numbers of days. The comparison sets assumptions owners sometimes make against what applies under Portuguese law and the two sets of terms.
What owners sometimes assume
The holiday home is insured like a home
- The house is insured whether or not anyone lives there
- Valuables are covered wherever they are kept
- Changes and claims can be reported when convenient
- Letting is a private matter for the owner
How Portugal actually works
Days, limits and deadlines
- Main or second home under the 90-day rule of the policy
- Tighter limits for valuables and cash in an unoccupied second home
- Report increased risk within 14 days (Art. 93.º LCS)
- Unreported increased risk: payout reduced in proportion to the premiums (Art. 94.º LCS)
- Report a claim within 8 days unless the policy sets another deadline (Art. 100.º LCS)
- Letting to guests: commercial activity is excluded from the home policy’s liability cover; alojamento local needs separate liability cover of at least 75,000 EUR per claim
The Portuguese side is based on the Decreto-Lei n.º 72/2008 linked above and the two sets of policy terms. How home insurance in Portugal is structured in general is explained on our page on house insurance in Portugal.
Holiday home insurance in Portugal: six costly mistakes
Six mistakes make a claim on a holiday home in Portugal unnecessarily expensive for owners who live abroad, from the wrong residence status to letting the insurer knows nothing about.
Frequently asked questions
Answers to common questions from owners abroad about insuring a holiday home in Portugal.
Do I need special insurance for my holiday home in Portugal?
You insure a holiday home with Portuguese home insurance taken out for a second home. With Fidelidade and Generali, a house counts as a second home if you live in it for no more than 90 days per calendar year. Tighter limits for valuables and theft apply in that case, so the policy should reflect how you actually use the house.
Is my holiday home insured if it stands empty for months?
With Fidelidade and Generali, an empty holiday home stays insured, but with limits. At Fidelidade, jewellery and items of precious metal in an unoccupied second home are not insured against theft unless specially agreed, cash not at all, and a declared alarm must be switched on. With the Premium option, Generali limits valuables not listed individually in a second home to 15 percent of the contents sum and 1,000 EUR per item; cash is not insured property there.
Does home insurance pay for theft without a break-in?
Under the two sets of policy terms examined, only in specific circumstances: with false keys, meaning copied keys or genuine keys that were lost or taken surreptitiously, with violence against a person, and at Fidelidade also if someone gets into the locked house unlawfully or hides inside it. Theft from a house that was not locked is not covered by Fidelidade unless specially agreed; at Generali the case is not clearly settled, because the scope of cover mentions unlawful entry but the definition only a break-in, climbing in or false keys.
What applies if the property manager has a key?
With Fidelidade and Generali, a break-in by strangers is not excluded just because the property manager holds a spare key. Fidelidade excludes theft committed or assisted by a person to whom you entrusted the keys. Generali excludes family members and perpetrators linked to you by an employment contract or a business partnership.
Do I have to tell my insurer if I let my holiday home?
As a rule yes, because letting changes the risk; whether it must be reported depends on the policy. Under Artigo 93.º of the Portuguese Insurance Contract Act, you report circumstances that increase the risk within 14 days. The liability modules of home insurance exclude damage from commercial activity, and for alojamento local the law requires separate liability cover of at least 75,000 EUR per claim.
How quickly must I report damage to my holiday home?
Within the deadline in your policy, or, if it sets none, within 8 days of becoming aware of it. Fidelidade and Generali require written notice within 8 days of the incident or of when you became aware of it. You also report theft to the police as soon as possible.
Is a holiday apartment already insured through the condomínio?
Under Artigo 1429.º of the Código Civil, only fire insurance of the building is compulsory, for the units and the common parts. Your contents, water damage in your apartment, theft and your liability towards neighbours are not insured by it. Ask the administrator what the condomínio policy covers.
Does the alarm have to be on while I am away?
If you declared it in the proposal, yes. Fidelidade reduces the payout if the house is unoccupied and the declared security systems were not switched on, in proportion between the premium paid and the premium without those systems. If an alarm is removed for good, tell the insurer.
Is a tap left running in a holiday home covered?
Under the Fidelidade and Generali terms only by way of exception. Generali excludes damage from taps left open except when the water supply failed. Fidelidade covers it only if the supply failed through no fault of yours and the water supplier, or in a power cut the electricity supplier, confirms this. Turning off the water main when you leave avoids the problem.
Our advice as an independent broker
A holiday home in Portugal can be insured well if the policy matches how you use it: declared as a second home, valuables listed individually or deliberately not kept in the house, key arrangements and alarm under control, and any letting reported. A typical gap arises not from a missing module but because the use of the house changed and the policy did not.
As an independent insurance broker, we are not tied to any insurer. We go through the condições particulares of your existing house insurance in Portugal with you, compare it with what the market offers and tell you in plain English which gap remains. If you have a claim, we speak to the Portuguese insurer and the loss adjuster on your behalf, even while you are abroad.
We check whether your policy matches how you actually use the house and obtain quotes for the building, contents and liability. In English, with no obligation and independent of any insurer.
Phone: +351 289 392 452
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Last updated: 9 October 2026. This guide reflects the information available on that date and does not replace individual advice or legal advice. The information on Fidelidade is based on the Condições Gerais Fidelidade Casa Mais, Mod. MR011, September 2026, where only the Portuguese wording is binding; the information on Generali on the Condições Gerais Multirrisco Casa, Mod. 465.031, July 2025, both retrieved on 9 October 2026. The two sets of terms are two examples, not a statement about the market; other insurers handle individual points differently. Only the terms of your own policy apply to your contract. The example calculations are based on assumed amounts.
