This summer, Spain is burning once again. For weeks, images of forests in flames, evacuated towns and orange-tinted skies have filled the news during a wave of fires that has already scorched around 180,000 hectares, six times more than at the same point last year. Experts describe it as the worst start since the fateful year of 1994, when the term megafire entered our vocabulary and never left.

Prolonged drought, increasingly early heatwaves and woodland that has grown by 33% since 1990, providing the perfect fuel: today, more than ever, the peninsula is a tinderbox. Behind every hectare burned lies not only a lost landscape, but disrupted lives, destroyed homes and shattered summers.

These are the moments when insurance stops being a document in a drawer and becomes a lifeline. It is important to know that forest fires are not covered by the Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros. Protection therefore depends directly on the policy each person has taken out.

Home insurance covers damage to the building and contents, debris removal and even temporary accommodation if the property becomes uninhabitable. Commercial or industrial insurance may cover interruption to business activity. Agricultural insurance protects crops and livestock. For cars, comprehensive policies or extended third-party policies that include fire cover respond to accidental fire damage.

Yet beyond the coverage itself, recent days have shown something even more important: the human factor. Insurers, loss adjusters, assistance teams and brokers have activated extraordinary protocols, direct channels and specialist resources to support those affected when they needed it most. Insurance has evolved from a purely compensatory role into a model of comprehensive support.

And on the front line is the insurance broker: the person who knows your policy, warns you before the problem arrives, speeds up your claim and supports you at the worst possible moment.

Because the true value of insurance becomes clear precisely when what nobody wanted to happen actually happens. Having a good broker by your side makes the difference between facing the fire alone… and not having to.