Fires in Portugal: insure against this…

I have been watching the news and seen with horror the unbelievable fires in Australia. It may not be mid-summer right now, but let’s face it, one of the reasons we love Portugal is that wonderful summer sun. Sadly there is a flipside to this and that is the traditional summer curse of wildfires, much as in Australia.

Each year firemen or bombeiros are called out to tackle fires all over the country which, in late summer 2010 included blazes in the hills near Sintra, in Viana do Castelo and in Viseu. The extremes of heat are unfortunately conducive to fires starting up and they are then fanned by the wind. Temperatures in some areas of Portugal were forecasted to have reached 40C or 104 degrees Fahrenheit in late summer 2010 – it seems hard to even imagine those sort of temperatures now doesn’t it? Rainfall was also very low in 2010, the lowest on record for 24 years. The lack of rain in Portugal was in total contrast to the previous winter when it was recorded that it was the wettest winter since 1870 in Lisbon. Note to self: stop complaining so much about our rather wet climate…!

Just to give you an idea of what the emergency services had to deal with, at one stage it was reckoned that 50 fires were burning in central and northern parts of the country, with about 1,500 fire-fighters mobilised to tackle the blazes. Around 18,000 hectares (44,500 acres) of forests and bush land was believed to have been affected. In August 2010 two Portuguese fire-fighters were killed and many others injured.

Portugal's only national park - the Peneda-Geres National Park in the north-west of the country – was one of the areas under threat.

I am mentioning all this not to scare you: after all, there are fires throughout Europe: Spain, France, Greece to name but a few…No, what I want you to remember is that if you have a property in Portugal it is imperative that you have it properly insured against fire.

If you are using your property as a holiday home or a rental property the using a British-based company makes it very easy to discuss what you need and to claim too if you are in the unfortunate position of having to do so. If however you live in Portugal you may find it easier to use a local company. Unless you have a very good comprehension of Portuguese I would think that it is of primary importance that your documents can be provided in English and that there is someone there that can help you sort out any claims that you may have to make in English too.

Bye ’til next time…

Carol.

The Overseas Guides Company
http://www.Portugalbuyingguide.com