How to Check an Insurer in Spain's DGSFP Register

Why the check matters

Two things depend on the legal entity behind your policy, not the brand on the website.

First, visas. The Spanish consulate in London, for example, requires health cover "contracted with an insurance entity authorized to operate in Spain". A policy from a company that is not authorised can get a visa application refused. See health insurance certificates for Spanish visas.

Second, protection. Spanish complaint routes, including the DGSFP's own complaints service, apply to supervised insurers and intermediaries.

Brands and legal entities often differ. CaixaBank, for instance, sells Adeslas health insurance as an agent; the insurer is SegurCaixa Adeslas, S.A. de Seguros y Reaseguros. International plans can be underwritten by a company in a different country from the one in the marketing: Cigna Global's site names Cigna Global Insurance Company Limited, based in Guernsey, as underwriter.

Step 1: Find the insurer's legal details

Look in the insurer identification section of the policy conditions, the quote or the product information document. You want three things:

• the full legal name (usually ending S.A. de Seguros, S.A. de Seguros y Reaseguros or Mutua)
• the tax number (NIF or CIF)
• the DGSFP registration key (clave)

For example, Sanitas's general conditions identify the insurer as Sanitas, Sociedad Anónima de Seguros, NIF A-28037042, entered in the DGSFP register under key C-320.

If the documents do not name an insurer at all, or only name an agency or comparison site, ask for the insurer's legal name before going further.

Step 2: Search the insurers register

1. Open the DGSFP public register. An English interface is available.
2. Enter the Code, Tax ID (NIF) or Name. Each field lets you choose "starts with", "ends with", "contains" or "equal to". "Contains" with a distinctive word from the name is the most forgiving.
3. Codes are padded with zeros, but you do not need to type them in full: the register explains that searching "C21" returns insurer C0021. So "C320" should find Sanitas.
4. Leave Status as All so you can see whether the company is Active, Cancelled, in Liquidation, Pending Cancellation or Revoked.
5. To check a foreign insurer, use the Foreign insurers options: choose the home country and the operating mode.
6. Run the search. Results can be exported to Excel or PDF if you want a record.

Step 3: Read the result

The type code

The letter at the start of the code tells you what kind of entity it is:

Status

Only Active is good news for a new policy. Cancelled, Liquidation, Pending Cancellation or Revocation means you should not buy.

The line of business

Health insurance falls under line 2, Enfermedad (sickness). The register lets you filter by line, and for Spanish insurers the health line can be narrowed further by modality. If you are buying health cover, the insurer should be authorised for line 2; a company authorised only for other lines, such as line 18 (Asistencia), is not the right entity.

Scope

Scope codes are N (national), A (autonomous community), P (provincial) and L (local). Some insurers are supervised by an autonomous community with its own powers rather than by the DGSFP; they appear in the separate regional registers, so check there if a smaller local insurer is missing from the main search.

Step 4: Check the broker or agent

If someone other than the insurer is selling you the policy, check them in the distributors register. You can search by Nombre / Razón Social (name), Clave Inscripción Registro (registration key) or Acreditación, and filter by Clase de Distribuidor:

• Agente exclusivo: tied to one insurer
• Agente de seguros vinculado: an agent working with several insurers
• Corredor de seguros: a broker, independent of insurers
• Operador de banca-seguros: a bank selling insurance

The Organismo Origen filter covers distributors registered with a regional authority (for example Andalucía, Cataluña or Madrid) as well as the DGSFP. The same page links to a list of intermediaries from other EEA countries operating in Spain.

Brokers and agents can also be registered in their own name or a company name, so search both if the first attempt finds nothing. Our guide to getting quotes explains how to compare prices direct or through a DGSFP-registered broker.

Step 5: Look for red flags

The DGSFP publishes a list of unregistered intermediaries it has identified, and a list of penalties it has imposed. A quick look at both is worthwhile if the seller is not a household name.

Save a copy or screenshot of the result with the date. Registration confirms that a company is authorised; it does not confirm that a particular policy meets your visa requirements or suits you. For that, use our checklist for comparing policies, and if something goes wrong later, see complaints and rejected claims.