Private Health Insurance in Mallorca: What Foreign Residents Actually Need

We covered how the public IB-Salut system works in an earlier post, and one question that comes up constantly from foreign buyers is where private health insurance fits alongside it. The honest answer is that it depends heavily on your residency status and your visa route, and getting the wrong type of policy is one of the more avoidable mistakes people make when settling in Mallorca.

This is a practical companion to that public-system guide, aimed at the private side of the picture.

Why Private Insurance Matters Here

For most non-EU residents applying for a Spanish residence visa, such as the Non-Lucrative Visa or the Digital Nomad Visa, private health insurance isn't optional; it's a mandatory part of the application. Spanish consulates expect a policy with no co-payments and no waiting periods, often marketed by insurers as "sin copagos y sin carencias," issued by an insurer registered with Spain's insurance regulator, the DGSFP. Ordinary travel insurance, and international-only policies that aren't Spanish-registered, are routinely rejected, however comprehensive they look on paper.

Who Actually Needs It

EU and EEA citizens who move to Mallorca generally have access to the public system through reciprocal arrangements or by registering as residents, and private insurance is optional for them, though many still choose it for faster access to specialists. For non-EU nationals, the calculation is different: your visa type sets the minimum insurance requirement, and applications for the Non-Lucrative Visa and Digital Nomad Visa in particular face close scrutiny on this point. It's worth noting that Spain's former Golden Visa route, which some buyers previously used to establish residency through property investment, was discontinued in April 2025, so it's no longer part of the picture for anyone planning a purchase now.

Even residents who don't strictly need private cover for visa purposes often choose to keep it, largely because it removes the GP referral requirement that applies in the public system and gives direct access to specialists.

The Main Providers

A handful of insurers dominate the Spanish private market and are the ones most consistently accepted for visa applications: Adeslas, Sanitas, DKV and Asisa, with providers such as ASSSA also well represented in expat-heavy coastal areas. They differ in network size, English-language support, and the maximum age at which they'll accept a new applicant, so it's worth comparing more than one before committing. Sanitas and DKV are generally strongest for English-language customer service; Adeslas tends to have the broadest network nationally.

What It Typically Costs

Premiums vary by age, insurer and level of cover, and brokers who work with the expat market in Spain generally describe visa-compliant policies as starting somewhere in the region of €50 to a few hundred euros a month, with costs rising noticeably from your thirties onward and again more steeply once you're past 60. Some insurers cap the age at which they'll take on new applicants, so older buyers should check this carefully and early rather than assuming any policy will work. Exact pricing depends on your individual circumstances and is worth getting quoted directly rather than relying on headline figures.

What Standard Cover Typically Includes

A standard private policy in Spain usually covers GP visits, direct specialist consultations without a referral, hospitalisation, and a defined network of clinics and hospitals. Direct specialist access is one of the most-cited reasons expats choose to keep private cover even once they're eligible for the public system, since it can mean the difference between a same-week appointment and a longer wait through IB-Salut.

The Convenio Especial: Buying Into the Public System

For residents who've been in Spain for at least 12 months and are registered on the local padrón, there's a separate route worth knowing about: the Convenio Especial, which allows you to pay directly into the public system rather than take out a private policy. It isn't available for an initial visa application from abroad, since it requires existing Spanish residency, but it's a useful option to have in mind for later, particularly for anyone who becomes ineligible for standard private cover due to age or health history.

Getting It Right From the Start

The most common mistake we see is buyers assuming that any health insurance policy, or a policy bought from an insurer back home, will satisfy Spanish requirements. It generally won't. If your move to Mallorca involves a visa application, it's worth confirming with your immigration lawyer or a specialist broker, well before you apply, that the specific policy you're buying is DGSFP-registered and structured as a no-copay, no-waiting-period plan. Getting this right at the outset avoids a rejected application and the delay of having to start again.