Is home insurance mandatory in Venezuela?

We found no general rule that requires it. The Ley de la Actividad Aseguradora (article 30) treats as mandatory only the insurance that the national executive establishes, and we found no act that includes housing.

Can the bank require insurance if I buy with a mortgage?

If the loan is for a primary home, yes. The Ley Especial de Protección al Deudor Hipotecario de Vivienda (article 27) requires mortgage insurance that covers, among other risks, fire, natural disasters, and the debtor's death and disability. The law does not name earthquakes: confirm in the policy whether it covers them.

Is the condominium required to insure the building?

No. The Ley de Propiedad Horizontal does not mention insurance. If the building is destroyed to at least three quarters of its value, any owner may request the division of the common property (article 16); if the damage is smaller, the owners decide whether to rebuild (article 17).

Does my home policy cover earthquakes?

Only if you agreed to it. SUDEASEG's rules say that, unless otherwise agreed, the insurer is not liable for earth tremors or natural disasters, and that fire insurance can cover earthquakes if the contract provides for it.

Did SUDEASEG order insurers to pay for home damage from the 2026 earthquakes?

No. Circular SAA-01-0137-2026 "exhorta" (urges) not applying the earthquake exclusions temporarily, only in health, personal accident and prepaid medicine. It does not mention home insurance.

Can the landlord ask me for an insurance policy?

If the contract is governed by the 2026 rental law, the landlord can agree on it with you as a guarantee, instead of the deposit, for up to three months' rent (article 16). It is an agreed alternative, not an obligation.

Home insurance: when it is mandatory

Insuring a home in Venezuela is, as a general rule, the owner's decision. The obligation appears in specific cases: a mortgage loan for a primary home, or a rental in which the parties choose the póliza (insurance policy) as a guarantee.

What the Ley de la Actividad Aseguradora (Insurance Activity Law) says

The law that governs insurers is the Ley de la Actividad Aseguradora. Its current text is the reform published in Gaceta Oficial (Official Gazette) No. 6.770 Extraordinario of November 29, 2023, which reprints the entire law and took effect 120 calendar days after its publication. It repeals the 2015 decree-law (Gaceta Oficial No. 6.211 Extraordinario, reprinted in No. 6.220 Extraordinario).

Three articles matter to the owner:

Mandatory insurance (article 30): these are "los que así establezca el Ejecutivo Nacional" (those that the national executive so establishes). The law does not declare any home insurance mandatory, and we found no act of the Executive that does.

Approved policies (article 29): the general conditions and the Condiciones Particulares (specific policy terms), the riders and the rates must be approved in advance by the Superintendencia de la Actividad Aseguradora (SUDEASEG, the insurance regulator).

Catastrophe reserve (article 38): insurers must keep a reserve for catastrophic risks "cubiertos por el respectivo contrato" (covered by the respective contract), among them earthquakes. The law requires reserving for what is covered; it does not require covering it.

The contract is regulated by two SUDEASEG providencias (administrative rulings) published in Gaceta Oficial No. 6.835 Extraordinario of September 3, 2024: the Normas que regulan los contratos de seguro y de medicina prepagada (rules governing insurance and prepaid medicine contracts, SAA-01-0506-2024) and the Condiciones Generales de las Pólizas de Seguros Patrimoniales (general conditions for property insurance policies, SAA-01-0478-2024), which are general and uniform in nature.

When insuring the home is mandatory

Situation	Is there an obligation?	Rule
Owner with no loan	We found none	Ley de la Actividad Aseguradora, art. 30
Mortgage loan for a primary home	Yes: mortgage insurance	Ley Especial de Protección al Deudor Hipotecario de Vivienda (Special Law for the Protection of Housing Mortgage Debtors), art. 27
Building under propiedad horizontal (condominium ownership)	The law does not require it	Ley de Propiedad Horizontal (Condominium Law), which does not mention insurance
Rental under the 2026 law	Only if agreed as a guarantee instead of the deposit	2026 housing rental law, art. 16

If you buy with a mortgage loan

The Ley Especial de Protección al Deudor Hipotecario de Vivienda (amended text, Gaceta Oficial No. 38.756 of August 28, 2007) devotes its Title III to mortgage loans for a primary home. Its article 27 requires the mortgaged property to have mortgage insurance that protects the creditor and the debtor in the event of:

fire, lightning and explosion;

impact of aircraft, satellites, rockets or other aerial devices, or of objects falling from them;

natural disasters;

death of the debtor, from any cause;

temporary and permanent disability of the debtor, from any cause.

The law does not name earthquakes: confirm in the póliza whether it covers them. The creditor must give you the content of the insurance contract and show its annual balance in the loan account statement (article 30, literal c). Each payment receipt must itemize interest, insurance and commissions (article 33). The law does not expressly say whether article 27 applies to a loan for a second home: ask the bank which póliza it requires.

If you live in a building with a condominium

The Ley de Propiedad Horizontal (Gaceta Oficial No. 3.241 Extraordinario, August 18, 1983) does not mention insurance in any of its articles. It does not require the condominium to insure the building, or the owner to insure their apartment.

It does regulate the destruction of the building:

Total destruction, or destruction of a portion representing at least three quarters of its value (article 16): any owner may request the division of the common property. The same applies if the building threatens ruin in that proportion.

Lesser damage (article 17): the owners decide whether to rebuild the common property; if they agree to, the expense is common.

Common expenses include, among others, those that at least 75% of the owners agree to treat as such and those that the condominium document declares common (article 11). That the premium of a policy for the building can be paid that way is our reading, not an express rule. How the assembly is called and how it decides: how a condominium works.

María del Carmen Bouffard, former executive president of the Cámara de Aseguradores de Venezuela (Venezuelan Insurers Chamber), warned on Unión Radio on August 10, 2026 that, if the common areas are not insured, "la reparación le queda al resto de la comunidad" (the repair falls to the rest of the community) even if some owners have their own policy (El Diario, August 11, 2026).

If you rent under the 2026 law

The Ley del Régimen Especial de Arrendamiento de Inmuebles Destinados a Vivienda (special housing rental law), in Gaceta Oficial No. 7.065 Extraordinario of August 7, 2026, applies to contracts agreed or formalized after it took effect, and excludes homes that the tenant already occupied on that date, for as long as that possession continues (article 2). Its article 16 allows the landlord to agree with the tenant on one of two guarantees: a deposit of up to three months' rent, or an insurance póliza covering damage caused to the property, for an amount of up to three months' rent. It is an agreed alternative, not an obligation, and the law does not say who pays for the póliza.

Article 17 requires insurers to design affordable policies for rented homes and tasks SUDEASEG with regulating their terms. As of October 28, 2026, the regulatory database published by SUDEASEG does not include that regulation. Details of the deposit and its return: security deposit on a rental.

Does home insurance cover earthquakes?

Only if the póliza includes it. According to the Normas que regulan los contratos de seguro, "salvo pacto en contrario" (unless otherwise agreed) the insurer is not liable for damage arising from "movimientos telúricos" (earth tremors), flooding or natural disasters, among others (article 70). Fire insurance "podrá cubrir otros riesgos" (may cover other risks), among them explosion, flooding and earthquakes, that are set out in the contract (article 72).

The uniform general conditions for property policies do not list earthquakes among their general exclusions: the policy covers the risks "mencionados en las Condiciones Particulares y Anexos" (clause 1), that is, those mentioned in the specific policy terms and riders. Coverages, deductible and specific exclusions go in the Condiciones Particulares or the riders (article 4 of the providencia): look there, and in the cuadro póliza recibo (policy schedule and receipt), for earthquakes as a contracted coverage.

What SUDEASEG did after the earthquakes:

Circular SAA-01-0137-2026 (June 25, 2026): "se exhorta" (it urges) insurance and prepaid medicine companies not to apply, exceptionally and temporarily, the exclusions for natural disasters or earthquakes in health, personal accident and prepaid medicine contracts. It does not mention home insurance.

Circular SAA-9-0139-2026 (July 21, 2026): asked insurers for data on the insured property exposed to and affected by the earthquakes of June 24, 2026 and their aftershocks, including property that did not yet have a claim.

According to El Estímulo (June 29, 2026), Bouffard explained on Unión Radio that this easing applies strictly to health and personal accidents, and lamented that the purchase of home policies is critically low in Venezuela.

If you buy in an affected area, concealed structural damage can be a vicio oculto (hidden defect).

Deadlines for claiming under a property policy

The uniform general conditions (Providencia SAA-01-0478-2024) set for every property policy:

Notice of the loss: within the period stated in the Condiciones Particulares (clause 18). Check it when you take out the policy.

Payment: the insurer must pay within a maximum of 20 calendar days from receiving the last requested document or the loss adjustment report (clause 12). If it rejects the claim, it must explain the reasons in writing within that same period (clause 13).

Caducidad (expiry of the right to act): after the written rejection, you have one year to sue or to agree to arbitration (clause 16).

Prescripción (statute of limitations): actions under the contract prescribe three years after the event that gave rise to them, except under special laws (clause 17).

The Condiciones Particulares and the cuadro póliza recibo must name the Defensor del tomador, asegurado o beneficiario (ombudsman for the policyholder, insured or beneficiary) and where to go with a complaint, claim or grievance (article 7 of the same providencia). For a lawsuit or an arbitration, consult a lawyer.

Home insurance in Venezuela: what it covers and whether it is mandatory