The Ministry for the Ecological Transition already estimates that more than 173,000 hectares have been burned by the forest fires that are affecting several regions of Spain. The fire of BurgohondoÁvila, has been declared the biggest fire in the history of the countrywith more than 50,000 hectares destroyed, while in the Community of Madrid and Castellón they have been burned 28,000 and 8,500 hectaresrespectively.
The advance of the flames has caused 80,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes and towns, while 92,000 remain confined. Something that has caused the loss and damage of both homes, businesses and other property. Fortunately, the victims will be able to claim these damages from their respective insurance companies. A task that, although not easy, FACUA-Consumers in Action association has released a series of recommendations.
Although there are companies that have made a monitoring the situation of your affected clientsas is the case of Mapfre, which contacted the insured after the activation of an emergency protocol, it is possible that some victims have not yet communicated their situation to their insurance company. Therefore, what the association first recommends is to do an assessment of the damages and communicate it as soon as possible to their insurers.
How to request compensation from an insurance company?
According to article 16 of Law 50/1980, of October 8, on the Insurance Contract, “the policyholder or the insured or the beneficiary must notify the insurer of the occurrence of the incident. within a maximum period of seven days if known, unless a longer period has been established in the policy. In the event of non-compliance, the insurer may claim damages caused by the lack of declaration.”
In order for the company to correctly calculate compensation, the insured must provide all documentation, information and evidence with which you count. If you do not have the original deeds, you can request help for their recovery completely free of charge through the Notarial Electronic Office. Likewise, on this platform you can also request certificates of accreditation of ownership and urgent certificates of protocolization of photographs of the damages suffered, all thanks to the Notarial Emergency Plan.
Once all the damage caused by the fires has been correctly reported to the insurance company, it must respond with the corresponding compensation in a period of forty days. However, FACUA reminds that, due to the nature of this type of disaster, this period may be extended while waiting for the authorities to extinguish the flames and be able to make an official assessment of the damage.
How to claim the amount of compensation calculated by the insurance?
The compensation will depend on the policy that the insured has contracted and may be both monetary and “repair or replacement of the damaged object“, as explained by FACUA, citing the regulations established in Spain. However, it may be the case that the company denies the insured’s request.
From the association they remember that the insured tThey have the right to file a claim of compensation in case of non-compliance. To do this, it is necessary to communicate it directly to the company within one month of the insurance response. If you receive a refusal from the company, it is possible to file a claim with the General Directorate of Insurance and Pension Funds (DGSFP).
In order to file a claim with the DGSFP, it is necessary to have gone to customer service or the insured’s ombudsman of the corresponding company and have been denied. This procedure can be carried out electronically or by post and the claim must include the identification data of the insuredthe identity of the claimed entity, the reason for the claim, proof that the legal period has elapsed and, finally, the place, date and signature.