Home Insurance in Cyprus (2026): Storms, Floods, Earthquakes and Costs

Home insurance is not compulsory in Cyprus unless you have a mortgage, but after the Limassol wildfire of July 2025 and the storms of summer 2026 it is worth having. A standard policy covers the building, your contents or both against fire, earthquake, storm, flood, escaped water and theft. What you actually get depends on the plan, its exclusions and how much you insure the home for.

Is home insurance compulsory in Cyprus?

There is no legal obligation to insure a home. In practice, if you buy with a mortgage, the bank will make property insurance a condition of the loan, and lenders typically name fire and earthquake among the risks it must cover. Our mortgage guide for expats shows what each bank asks for.

Everyone else chooses. When fire swept through the Limassol hills in July 2025, many holiday homes and fully paid houses were uninsured because cover is only required for mortgaged property. Of the 706 buildings affected, 335 were destroyed. The state paid for repairs whatever people's insurance status, but its scheme rejected a large share of claims: by September 2026, 327 of 863 applications had been turned down. A private policy is the only cover you control.

What is the difference between buildings and contents insurance?

• Buildings cover pays to repair or rebuild the structure and permanent fixtures: walls, roof, floors, kitchen units, bathrooms, built-in wardrobes and outdoor features you declare. It is the owner's responsibility.
• Contents cover pays for your belongings: furniture, appliances, electronics, clothes and, up to set limits, jewellery and valuables.
• Liability cover protects you if you cause damage or injury to others as owner or occupier, for example water leaking into the flat below.

Most owner-occupiers buy buildings and contents together. If you live in an apartment block, the building may already be insured under a joint policy, so ask the management committee before you insure the structure again.

Insurance for tenants

If you rent, your landlord insures the building, not your things. A contents policy covers your belongings and your liability as a tenant. Atlantic Insurance's Household Executive plan covers tenants' contents and pays up to €2,000 for alternative accommodation if a rented home becomes uninhabitable, and Genikes Insurance sells a Home Burglary plan aimed at tenants and flat owners. Read our guide to renting in Cyprus to see what your lease says about damage and repairs.

Insurance for landlords

If you let a property, insure the building and any furniture you provide, and look for lost rent cover. Atlantic's policy, for example, pays lost rent up to 10% of the building's sum insured for up to six months while the home cannot be lived in. Tell the insurer the property is let: damage caused by tenants is a standard exclusion.

Does home insurance cover earthquakes, storms and floods?

Cyprus sits in an earthquake zone and gets short, violent storms. Do not assume every policy covers both:

Storms are not only a winter problem. On 17 August 2026 parts of Nicosia flooded within minutes, and on 29 August 2026 storms brought down trees, damaged greenhouses and solar panels and cut power across the island. The authorities later recorded 183 affected homes in 20 communities and three municipalities, mainly in the Nicosia district. Our guide to driving in the rainy season lists the streets that flood most often.

The excess

Every policy has an excess: the amount or percentage you pay on each claim. It can differ by peril and is set out in your policy schedule, not in the product leaflet. Ask for the earthquake, storm and flood excess in writing before you buy.

What does home insurance not cover?

Most home insurance policies share similar exclusions:

• Wear and tear and gradual damage: damp, rot, mildew, pests and frost.
• Poor maintenance: rain that gets in through a badly maintained roof or poor insulation, rather than through an opening the storm itself made.
• Outdoor items in storms: awnings, gates, fences, aerials and garden furniture, unless you declare them separately.
• Defective workmanship and mechanical or electrical breakdown.
• Empty homes: Atlantic's plan stops covering storm, flood, theft, malicious damage and water escape after 90 consecutive days without anyone living there, unless you buy its Maxi extension; some fire-and-perils policies exclude damage once a building has been uninhabited for more than 30 days. This matters for holiday homes and long trips abroad.
• Damage you, your family or your tenants cause deliberately.
• Unreported theft: AIG's expat home policy excludes theft or malicious damage not reported to the police within seven days.

How much does home insurance cost in Cyprus?

Insurers on the island generally do not publish standard premiums: you get a price through an online quote or from an agent. These are the things that change your price most:

1. The sum insured for the building. This should be the full cost of rebuilding the home (its reinstatement value), not its market price, which includes the land. Atlantic's policy settles building claims at reinstatement value and cuts claims in proportion if you underinsure: insure for 70% of the true cost and you receive about 70% of each claim.
2. The value of your contents and any high-value items you list individually.
3. Which perils you choose, especially whether earthquake, storm and flood are included or added.
4. The excess you accept and any extras, such as accidental damage, home assistance or cover for valuables away from home.

Update your sum insured regularly. After the 2025 wildfire, owners complained that payouts did not match their losses, and some policies had not been updated for 20 years. In one case a house with €290,000 of damage received €190,000 because the policy covered only part of it.

The €500 tax deduction from 2026

Under Law 244(I)/2025, from 1 January 2026 you can deduct premiums for home cover against natural disasters (fire, earthquake, flood) from your taxable income, up to €500 a year per taxpayer, with no income test. It applies to a main home, a holiday home or a property you let. Owners in a block with a joint policy can claim their share, and couples can share the deduction for their main home. You claim it on your annual tax return, so keep the policy and proof of payment. It reduces taxable income rather than your tax bill directly: Atlantic's example shows a €700 premium at a 30% tax rate saving €150.

Who sells home insurance in Cyprus?

The Superintendent of Insurance publishes a list of the insurers it supervises, with each company's complaints contact. Insurers offering home cover in 2026:

Many other licensed insurers and their agents also sell home cover, so it is worth asking for more than one quote. If you are a Gan Direct customer, note that in September 2026 Anytime agreed to buy its motor and property portfolio in Cyprus, subject to regulatory approval, so watch for letters about your renewal.

How do you make a home insurance claim?

How do you complain about an insurer?

1. Complain to the insurer in writing. It must reply within 45 days.
2. Go to the Superintendent of Insurance at the Insurance Companies Control Service if there is no reply or the reply is vague. It supervises insurers but cannot order compensation or decide disputes.
3. Take the dispute to the Financial Ombudsman (tel. 22 848900), who can mediate and settle disputes.
4. Go to court as a last resort.

What to do next

• Find your rebuild cost and check the sum insured on any policy you already have.
• Compare at least two quotes and check earthquake, storm, flood and the excess on each.
• Keep your policy and receipts for your 2026 tax return.

Related guides: buying or renting in Cyprus, heating your home in winter and weather warnings, heatwaves and dust storms.