Home insurance in Portugal is easy to buy and easy to misunderstand. The useful questions are: what is insured, against which events, for how much, with what excess, and under which exclusions? This guide also explains what to do when something actually goes wrong at home.

What insurance is legally required?

Portugal’s insurance supervisor, the ASF, explains that the statutory home-insurance requirement is fire insurance for autonomous units in buildings under propriedade horizontal (the normal condominium/apartment regime). It covers the fraction and the relevant common parts. A broader seguro multirriscos habitação is not the same as this minimum fire requirement. A mortgage lender may contractually require broader insurance, so distinguish the law from the conditions of your loan.

Building, contents and liability are different

  • Edifício / paredes: the building, fixed installations and insured structural elements.
  • Recheio: household contents: furniture, appliances, clothes and possessions.
  • Responsabilidade civil: liability for insured damage caused to other people or their property, subject to the policy.
  • Assistência ao lar: some policies can send a plumber, electrician, locksmith or other professional, within stated limits.

If you rent, the landlord’s building insurance does not automatically insure your possessions. Tenants can insure their contents and may also want liability and home-assistance cover. Landlords should tell the insurer that the property is rented rather than assume an owner-occupier policy fits.

What can multirriscos cover?

There is no universal package. ASF gives examples including floods, storms, electrical risks, contents damage, theft/robbery and civil liability. DECO PROteste also explains common cover such as water damage, locating faults after a burst pipe, aesthetic damage, electrical risks and home assistance. Compare the actual conditions, limits, exclusions and franquias rather than the product name.

Earthquake cover: check it explicitly

Do not assume “multirriscos” automatically means every natural event. Check fenómenos sísmicos explicitly. Earthquake cover and its deductible can materially change both protection and premium.

Mortgage insurance: compare the whole deal

The bank’s insurance can be convenient, but it is not automatically the cheapest or best fit. ASF confirms insurers set their own prices. If choosing another insurer changes a mortgage spread or bundled discount, compare the total mortgage cost and the insurance cover, not the insurance premium alone.

How much should you insure?

Do not simply use the purchase price as the building sum insured. Reconstruction value and market value are different: land, location and scarcity affect market price. Contents should reflect realistic replacement cost under the policy rules. Declare high-value items where required and update cover after substantial renovation, extensions or expensive purchases.

Portugal-specific checks

  • Water damage: check whether locating the leak, opening walls/floors, repairing pipes and restoring finishes are all covered.
  • Storm, flood and landslip: important depending on location and terrain; definitions and exclusions matter.
  • Wildfire: particularly relevant to rural and forest-adjacent homes. Insurance does not replace statutory land/fire-management duties.
  • Earthquake: check explicitly.
  • Electrical risks: check limits for surge/fault damage to appliances.
  • Outbuildings, pools and annexes: never assume everything on the land is part of the insured building.
  • Solar panels and heat pumps: tell the insurer what is installed and confirm how fixed equipment is treated.
  • Vacancy: extended unoccupancy can affect cover, important for second homes.
  • Renovation: major works can change risk; tell the insurer beforehand.
  • AL, paying guests or business use: ordinary home insurance may not be designed for these activities.

Wildfire protection: clearing land around the house

For rural and forest-edge homes, wildfire protection is not only an insurance question: Portugal has legal fuel-management (gestão de combustível) duties. Under the current national SGIFR framework, where land within the protection area around an occupied home is classified as forest territory, the standard fuel-management strip is 50 metres from the exterior masonry of the building. Where that strip crosses agricultural territory, the statutory width is 10 metres. Different rules can apply around built-up interfaces and under municipal rules, so check the exact classification and current requirements for your land rather than assuming every field has the same 50-metre rule.

“Clearing” does not normally mean cutting down every tree. The current SGIFR fuel-management guidance explains that vegetation should be managed to break the horizontal and vertical continuity that lets fire travel. Around buildings, tree and shrub crowns should generally be kept at least 5 metres from the building and should not project over the roof. Trees retained farther out must be appropriately spaced and pruned, while scrub, dry grass, dead vegetation and other fuel need management. The applicable crown-spacing and vegetation-height criteria depend on the zone, vegetation and current rules; do not rely on a single internet rule such as “one tree every X square metres”.

The governing framework is Decree-Law 82/2021 (consolidated SGIFR regime), supplemented by current fuel-management rules and local implementation. The person responsible can be the owner, tenant, usufructuary or other person/entity holding the land; it is not necessarily the owner of the house being protected. If neighbouring land that should be managed is not being cleared, contact the Câmara/GNR rather than entering and cutting somebody else’s property yourself. BorderlessAdvice guide #128 treats the deadlines, enforcement, vegetation criteria, burning/removal of cut material and land-management obligations in detail.

Insurance and wildfire preparation

  • Confirm that fire/wildfire damage is within your policy and read exclusions and duties imposed on the insured.
  • Tell the insurer about annexes, sheds, solar equipment and other structures that need cover.
  • Photograph the house, outbuildings and valuable contents before fire season and keep copies away from the property/cloud-backed.
  • Keep access usable for emergency vehicles and know more than one safe route out where possible.
  • Do required vegetation management before the applicable deadline; do not wait until a fire is nearby.
  • Follow current SGIFR, Câmara and Civil Protection instructions because annual deadlines and exceptional fire-danger restrictions can change.

Apartment owners: check the condomínio too

Ask the administrator what the condominium policy covers, its insured capital and how common-parts claims are handled. “The condomínio has insurance” does not mean your private contents, improvements or every loss inside your fraction are insured.

When something happens: the first hour

  1. Protect people first. If there is immediate danger, leave and call 112.
  2. Stop further damage only where safe. Shut off water, electricity or gas only if you know how and can do so safely.
  3. Record the scene. Photograph/video before cleanup or permanent repair.
  4. Contact the insurer/assistance line. Get a claim number and ask what it wants you to do next.
  5. Prevent worsening damage. Necessary temporary emergency work may be sensible; keep photographs and invoices.
  6. Preserve evidence. Keep damaged items where practical until the insurer says they may be discarded.
  7. Keep a file. Save reports, receipts, messages, contractor details and a timeline.

Burst pipe or water leak

Close the stopcock if possible. Do not touch wet electrical installations. If the source may be a common pipe or another apartment, contact the condominium administrator/neighbour. Photograph the source and damage. Ask whether the insurer’s assistance network should locate the leak before hiring your own contractor.

Gas smell or suspected leak

Treat a strong gas smell as a safety issue, not an insurance issue. Avoid flames, smoking and electrical switches that could create a spark; ventilate only if safe, leave the danger area, close the supply if safely accessible and contact the appropriate emergency/distribution service. For immediate danger call 112. See ERSE for Portuguese energy-consumer and network information.

Fire, smoke or carbon-monoxide danger

Get everyone out and call 112. Do not re-enter for possessions. Once authorities make the property safe, contact the insurer and keep official records and receipts for emergency accommodation or other covered expenses.

Storm, flooding or wildfire

Follow Civil Protection instructions first. ANEPC / Proteção Civil is the national civil-protection reference and SGIFR provides rural-fire prevention information. If a wildfire threatens the property, monitor official warnings, prepare to leave early, close doors/windows where instructed and take people, essential medicines, identification and animals only if this can be done safely. If authorities order evacuation, leave. Do not stay behind or approach an active fire merely to defend insured property. Call 112 for immediate danger. Once authorities say it is safe to return, photograph damage before substantial cleanup, notify the insurer and retain emergency-expense evidence.

Lockout, broken window or urgent repair

Before calling the first emergency tradesperson you find online, check for assistência ao lar. Your insurer may arrange a locksmith, glazier, plumber or electrician subject to limits. If using your own contractor, ask the insurer first where practical and obtain an invoice.

If a claim is rejected or undervalued

Ask for the decision and contractual basis in writing. Compare it with the general, special and particular policy conditions, insured capital, excess and exclusions. Supply missing evidence. Then use the insurer’s complaint procedure and applicable dispute-resolution routes. ASF supervises insurers and publishes consumer guidance; it also issued 2025 recommendations on claims-handling practices and timeframes for multirriscos-home claims.

Before buying: checklist

  • Building, contents or both?
  • Correct reconstruction and contents values?
  • Fire, water, storm, flood, theft and electrical cover?
  • Earthquake cover?
  • Civil liability?
  • Home assistance?
  • Fault-finding and pipe repair after water damage?
  • Temporary accommodation?
  • Excess/franquia for each major cover?
  • Limits for valuables?
  • Outbuildings, solar and special property features declared?
  • Vacancy, rental and business-use restrictions?
  • Mortgage discount impact if choosing another insurer?
  • Emergency/claims number saved?

Useful links

Last verified: 2 October 2026. Insurance products differ materially by policy wording. Emergency guidance is general safety information; follow 112, Civil Protection, network-operator and insurer instructions for the actual incident.