Being self-employed (autónomo) in Spain means that if one day you can’t work, nobody fills the gap for you: no boss, no colleague, and hardly any Social Security. Only a few insurance policies are compulsory, and they depend on your specific activity; the ones that really make a difference are the ones you choose. Whether you’ve just registered as an autónomo or have been working for yourself here for years, this guide explains in English what you need for your situation and where to get it.
Compulsory
Which insurance is compulsory for the self-employed in Spain?
There’s no single law requiring “all autónomos” to have a particular policy: it depends on your activity, and sometimes on your region or professional association (colegio profesional). By law, you need professional liability insurance if you are:
A healthcare professional (doctor, physiotherapist, dentist): compulsory under the Spanish law regulating healthcare professions.
A lawyer or court representative (procurador): required by the General Statute of the Spanish Legal Profession.
An architect, building surveyor or engineer working on building projects: compulsory under the Spanish Building Act (Ley de Ordenación de la Edificación).
A personal trainer or sports instructor: compulsory in most Spanish regions, including Madrid.
A gas installer.
Beyond these cases, many professional associations (economists, administrative agents, commercial agents and others) require it anyway before you can join, and if you have business premises or a shop, liability insurance is a requirement for your opening licence. If you use a vehicle for work, it needs the right insurance, and if you have employees, collective-agreement accident insurance (seguro de accidentes de convenio) is not optional: most collective agreements require it.
Beyond what’s compulsory, there are two policies that hardly any autónomo has, and they’re the ones that really protect your income: sick pay and private health insurance. We explain why further down.
Your situation
What you’re missing, depending on your situation
Not every self-employed person needs the same cover. Find your case:
No employees and no premises
You are the whole business: if you fall ill, nobody invoices. The essentials for you:
Sick pay insurance (temporary incapacity) from €30/month. You receive a daily amount based on the official schedule for your illness or injury, extendable up to 365 days if your leave goes on, compatible with and independent of what Social Security pays you, and paid within 48 hours of your sick leave being confirmed. It also includes a surgery benefit, hospitalisation from the second day and access to the Allianz Health & Wellbeing network with special rates for specialists.
Private health insurance gives you access to specialists and tests without waiting lists, so you don’t depend on the public system giving you an appointment in time.
Professional liability is compulsory if your activity is one of those listed above; if not, it’s still what protects you against a claim from a client. Limits of up to €2,000,000 per claim (annual aggregate up to €6,000,000), including public, professional, employer’s and product liability, among others. Designed for freelancers and companies with a turnover of up to €15 million.
With premises or a shop
Your business has a physical space, and that brings extra risks: fire, water, theft, or a customer slipping in your shop.
Company insurance protects your premises, stock and fittings against fire, water, theft, electrical damage or machinery breakdown, at three levels (Basic, Optimum, Extra) depending on how much you want to cover. It includes liability of up to €1,500,000 per claim and per year (€300,000 per victim).
Small business insurance adds specific covers if you sell to the public, such as goods in transit, theft with a lower excess or protection for the cash in your till.
Public liability, included in both products above.
With employees
As soon as you hire someone, your obligations change.
Collective-agreement accident insurance automatically guarantees the workplace accident and occupational illness covers required by the collective agreement (convenio colectivo) for your sector, without you having to track its changes or report individual starters and leavers: just the real number of employees each month.
Group health insurance: offering health insurance to your team is one of the employee benefits that best retains talent, at a lower cost than a pay rise.
Group life insurance: protection for your staff and peace of mind for you as their employer.
Online business or handling client data
Spain recorded 97,348 cybersecurity incidents in 2024, with more than 31,500 businesses affected, 43% more than the year before. If you invoice, handle client data or sell online, a cyberattack isn’t just a technical problem: it’s a legal and financial one.
Cyber insurance covers everything from preventive IT and legal support to responding to an attack: liability of up to €600,000 depending on the plan, reimbursement for cyber extortion, cyber theft and data recovery. Available if your turnover doesn’t exceed €25 million and your systems are in Spain.
Haulier or courier (deliveries, parcels, freight)
If you work in transport or deliveries on your own account, your vehicle and your cargo are your entire business.
Goods in transit insurance covers the goods you carry (not just the vehicle), with policies per trip, per vehicle or based on annual turnover, and compensation according to weight and the applicable transport law (Spanish or international).
Truck and commercial vehicle insurance if your vehicle is a van or truck used for work.
Key fact
Sick pay insurance: the cover most autónomos are missing
Here’s the fact almost no autónomo knows until it happens to them: if you go on sick leave, Social Security pays nothing for the first three days. From day 4 to day 20 you receive 60% of your daily contribution base, and from day 21, 75%.
If you contribute on the minimum base (€701.63/month in 2026), that works out at about €14 a day for the first two weeks and €17.50 a day from the third, far from a real income, and with nobody covering your work in the meantime.
Private sick pay insurance from €30/month, paid within 48 hours of your sick leave being confirmed, tops up that benefit so that time off sick doesn’t also become a financial problem. It’s compatible with and independent of what you receive from Social Security, with no waiting period for accidents (60 days for illness).
Example: 7 days off with the flu
Social Security only
€56
€0 for the first 3 days + 4 days at 60% (minimum base)
With private sick pay (€30/day)
€210
7 days × €30, from day one
Difference: +€154, almost 4 times more. Illustrative example based on 7 days of leave; the actual duration depends on the official schedule for your diagnosis.
Savings and retirement
Unlike an employee, you don’t have a company pension waiting for you: your retirement depends entirely on what you decide to save. An individual pension plan is the natural way to build long-term savings, with the added advantage that contributions reduce your taxable base for Spanish income tax (IRPF) if you’re tax resident in Spain.
Tax advantages
If you pay tax under direct assessment (estimación directa; not under the module system), you can deduct as a business expense up to €500/year per person for health insurance (you, your spouse and your children under 25), up to €1,500 per person with a recognised disability, as well as liability and company insurance premiums linked to your activity. Check the details with your gestor or tax adviser.
Talk to an agent
There’s no automatic comparison site behind this page, and no form that sends you to a call centre. We’re AMB Seguros, exclusive Allianz agents registered with the DGSFP, with more than 30 years advising freelancers and small businesses in Murcia. You can come to our office in central Murcia to go through your case calmly, or sort everything out by WhatsApp or video call in English if that suits you better.