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Lanzarote is one of the most distinctive and beautiful islands in the Canary archipelago and one of the most popular with British expats. Its otherworldly volcanic landscape, protected as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, combined with year-round sunshine, clean beaches, and a relaxed pace of life, have attracted a significant and established international community. The areas of Playa Blanca, Puerto del Carmen, and Costa Teguise are the main expat hubs, each with good English-language infrastructure.
The island covers just over 800 square kilometres, making it compact enough to navigate easily, yet diverse enough to offer genuinely different lifestyles depending on where you settle. Puerto del Carmen, strung along the east coast south of Arrecife, is the most commercially active resort area, with a long promenade, a working fishing harbour at the old town end, and a strong year-round population of foreign residents. Costa Teguise, a short drive north of the capital, is quieter and more residential, popular with families and those who prefer proximity to Arrecife without being in the centre of it. Playa Blanca, in the far south, has grown considerably in the past two decades and now has its own ferry terminal connecting to Fuerteventura, a well-maintained promenade, and a settled community of longer-term residents.
Lanzarote has one of the highest proportions of expat residents of any Canary Island. British residents are the dominant group, followed by German, Irish, and Scandinavian expats. The island is small enough to feel like a genuine community — social clubs, English-speaking churches, and dedicated expat services are well established in the main resort areas. At Insurance Spain, we serve Lanzarote's international community in English, Norwegian, and German.
In practical terms, this means you will find English spoken widely in estate agents, medical practices, solicitors offices, and local businesses in Puerto del Carmen and Playa Blanca. There are active expat social groups across all three main resort areas, and community noticeboards and online groups such as those covering Puerto del Carmen residents provide a reliable way to find trusted tradespeople, legal advisers, and local services. The island also has a number of English-language churches serving various denominations, and regular charity and social events throughout the year. For families, there are international schooling options accessible from the main residential areas, and the southern motorway linking Playa Blanca to Arrecife has made commuting and school runs considerably easier in recent years.
Like all Canary Islands, Lanzarote operates under the IGIC tax system. All insurance products on the island are subject to IGIC, not mainland IVA. Our partner insurers are authorised under Canary Islands regulations.
Lanzarote's main private facility is the Clínica Lanzarote in Arrecife. For complex procedures, patients are typically referred to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria or the Spanish mainland. This makes comprehensive private health insurance with emergency evacuation cover particularly important on Lanzarote. The policy must also confirm Canary Islands coverage rather than "peninsular Spain only." Mandatory for Non-Lucrative Visa holders.
The public health system on Lanzarote is centred on the Hospital Doctor José Molina Orosa in Arrecife, which handles emergencies and general admissions for the whole island. There are also public health centres (centros de salud) in Puerto del Carmen, Tías, Playa Blanca, and Costa Teguise. Registered residents with a Spanish social security number or a health card issued through residency are entitled to use the public system, but waiting times for specialist consultations can be long, and private health insurance allows you to be seen at Clínica Lanzarote or at specialist facilities in Las Palmas without delay. For residents who travel frequently between Lanzarote and the UK or mainland Europe, it is worth confirming that your policy provides adequate cover in those destinations as well.
Lanzarote's property market is dominated by villas, bungalows, and apartments, most of which are used as primary residences or holiday homes. Key insurance considerations include:
Many properties on Lanzarote, particularly in urbanisations around Playa Blanca and Los Mojones near Puerto del Carmen, are part of community developments with shared gardens, pools, and communal areas. In these cases, the community of owners is typically required to hold a communal buildings policy, but this does not replace your own contents and liability cover. If you own within a community, it is worth confirming exactly what the community policy covers and where your individual policy needs to begin. Properties closer to the coast, particularly those on the seafront in Puerto del Carmen or overlooking the sea in Playa Blanca, may face additional considerations around salt air corrosion and exposure to coastal winds when valuing buildings for reinstatement purposes.
Lanzarote has limited public transport outside the main resort areas. Car ownership is essential for most expats. The island is small — you can cross it in 45 minutes — but distances between urbanisations require a vehicle. We compare car insurance from all major Spanish providers and arrange cover for UK-registered vehicles.
Lanzarote's road network is generally well maintained, with the LZ-2 motorway connecting Arrecife to Playa Blanca and the LZ-1 running north to Costa Teguise and Orzola. Most expats find driving on the island straightforward, though the volcanic terrain means some inland and rural roads can be narrow and uneven, particularly around Tinajo, Haría, and the Timanfaya area. If you are relocating from the UK and bringing your vehicle, you will need to go through the Spanish re-registration process once you establish residency, after which the vehicle will be subject to the annual road tax (IVTM) paid to the local ayuntamiento. The IGIC rate applies to vehicle-related transactions on the island rather than the mainland IVA rate. For expats who purchase a vehicle locally, we can arrange cover from the point of sale, including temporary cover while you complete registration formalities.
This varies significantly by policy. Standard Spanish home insurance may or may not include volcanic events — it depends on whether the policy includes extraordinary risk coverage via the Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros (CCS). We ensure your Lanzarote home insurance is correctly structured and that volcanic and geological risks are addressed.
Contact us or fill in the quote form. We understand the Lanzarote market and respond in English, usually within one working day.
