Is building or fire insurance mandatory in Peru? When someone can require it

There is no general legal duty

Many people assume Peruvian law requires an apartment building to be insured against fire. We found no norm that says so. We looked where such a duty would have to be: the regulation that governs owners’ associations, the SBS rules on loans and insurance, and the building safety inspection (ITSE) regulation. None of them imposes general insurance on a property.

That does not mean nobody can ever require it. Insurance comes in through three routes: what the owners agree, what a bank asks for before lending, and the policy required while a multi-unit building is being built.

In a building: the internal rules or the association decide

The TUO of the Regulation of Ley 27157 (D.S. 035-2006-VIVIENDA) governs buildings with separately owned units and common areas. Its article 153 lists what the reglamento interno (the building’s internal rules) must contain. Insurance is not on the list, but the last item leaves the door open:

“El Reglamento Interno deberá contener, obligatoriamente, lo siguiente: […] j) Cualquier otro acuerdo o pacto lícito que sus otorgantes deseen incluir.”

(The internal rules must contain, among other things, any other lawful agreement the owners wish to include.)

Article 138 defines common expenses broadly:

“Son gastos comunes, entre otros: a) Todos los ocasionados por el mantenimiento de los servicios comunes indicados en el artículo anterior, cargas, responsabilidades y, en general, cualquier gasto que no sea susceptible de individualización. b) Cualquier otro extraordinario acordado por la Junta de Propietarios.”

(Common expenses include maintenance of common services, charges, liabilities and any expense that cannot be assigned to one unit, plus any extraordinary expense the owners’ association agrees on.)

Our reading: if your internal rules include building insurance, or the junta de propietarios agrees on it as an expense, its cost can be charged as a common expense. The regulation does not name insurance in those words; we draw this from the two articles. The decision has to be taken with the quorum and vote your internal rules set. How meetings and fee collection work is on our pages about the owners’ association and common expenses and what the internal rules can impose.

On a mortgage: the bank asks, but you choose

The SBS regulations assume a bank may set insurance as a condition of a loan. They do not turn that insurance into a general legal duty. What they regulate is how it is bought. Article 27 of the Market Conduct Regulation for the Financial System (Res. SBS 3274-2017) says that, when insurance is a condition, the bank:

“Deben informar a los usuarios que tienen el derecho a elegir entre la contratación del seguro ofrecido por las empresas; o un seguro contratado directamente por el usuario o a través de la designación de un corredor de seguros; siempre que cumpla, a satisfacción de las empresas, con las condiciones previamente informadas.”

(Banks must tell customers they may choose the bank’s insurance, a policy they buy themselves, or one through a broker, as long as it meets the conditions the bank disclosed beforehand.)

So you can bring your own property policy and endorse it to the bank, if it meets the bank’s stated conditions. The endorsement details are on our page about insurance tied to a loan.

Two more rules protect you. The insurance cost counts in the TCEA (the total annual cost rate). Article 13.1 of the same regulation says:

“Para este cálculo se incluyen las cuotas que involucran el principal, intereses, comisiones y gastos, que de acuerdo con lo pactado se trasladan al cliente, incluidos los seguros en los casos que se trate de créditos de consumo y/o hipotecarios para vivienda.”

(The calculation includes principal, interest, fees and charges passed on to the customer under the contract, including insurance on consumer loans and home mortgages.)

And if you pay off the whole loan early, numeral 33.2 of the Market Conduct Regulation for the Insurance System (Res. SBS 4143-2019, text replaced by Res. SBS 2388-2021) says:

“De tratarse del pago anticipado total de una operación crediticia, en la que se cuenta con un seguro que cubre la pérdida del bien que constituye garantía del crédito, el usuario tiene derecho a solicitar a la empresa o al comercializador, en caso corresponda, la cancelación del seguro y la consecuente devolución de la prima por el período de cobertura no devengado o puede manifestar su voluntad de mantener en vigencia dicho seguro.”

(If you pay off a loan in full early and it carries insurance covering loss of the collateral, you may ask for that insurance to be cancelled and the unearned premium refunded, or say you want to keep it.)

The rule says “solicitar”, to request: ask in writing. If the bank does not comply, you can file a complaint with the bank.

During construction: the CAR policy

There is one insurance the law does require, but for the construction work, not the finished building. Article 25 of the TUO of Ley 29090, among the permit requirements for Modality B, says:

“Para proyectos multifamiliares, se adjunta, asimismo, póliza CAR (Todo Riesgo Contratista), según las características de la obra que se vaya a ejecutar con cobertura por daños materiales y personales a terceros y como complemento al Seguro Complementario de Trabajo de Riesgo según la Ley Nº 26790, Ley de Modernización de la Seguridad Social en Salud. Este documento se entrega obligatoriamente a la Municipalidad como máximo el día hábil anterior al inicio de la obra y debe tener una vigencia igual o mayor a la duración del proceso edificatorio.”

(For multi-unit projects, a CAR (Contractor’s All Risk) policy covering property damage and personal injury to third parties must be filed with the municipality no later than the business day before work starts, and must last at least as long as the construction.)

This policy covers harm to others while the building goes up. It is not fire insurance for the finished, occupied building. The other permit requirements are on our building permit page.

What about businesses?

Opening or keeping a business premises requires an ITSE certificate. In the text of the ITSE regulation we reviewed, we found no insurance or policy among its requirements. The inspection checks the safety conditions of the premises, not whether you are insured. We cover it in business closures and ITSE certificates.

What this page does not cover

We did not review municipal ordinances, leases that require insurance, specific buildings’ internal rules, or the terms of programs such as Mivivienda or Techo Propio. We also do not cover what a fire policy pays for, how damage is shared between neighbors after a fire, or what to do if an insurer rejects a claim.