If you’re a foreigner living in Sweden, you can often find yourself disadvantaged by language difficulties when you’re sorting out financial issues such as insurance policies. Even if you get by in Swedish, you can easily find yourself bamboozled by the technical language of the insurance industry.

“A lot of English speakers in Sweden are paying way too much for their car insurance, for instance, because they find it hard to make comparisons between different companies offers,” says Daniel Axelsson of Insaver, the first insurance broker in Sweden to allow people to get quotes online and purchase their insurance in English.

And the difference in price between one insurer and another can be huge:

“Some car insurance policies can cost 14,000 kronor per year, while another company will offer the same coverage for 6,000,” Axelsson says.

85 percent of people who use Insaver reduce their insurance premiums, according to the company.

“Price comparison sites are on the rise all over the place and are saving people money. But if you’re in Sweden there are lots of terms that are hard to understand if Swedish is not your first language.”

Using Insaver, English speakers can get an instant quote for car or home insurance in 30 seconds. All you need to get a quote is a Swedish personal number. Once you have chosen an insurance policy you can sign up online. You will then receive an email receipt from Insaver and an insurance certificate from your insurer.

Even some people without personal numbers can use Insaver. If you have been granted residency in Sweden and have been given a temporary ‘coordination number’ (samordningsnummer) by the authorities, you can also get a quote.

The company also gives quotes by phone, which can be useful for those who perhaps haven’t yet been fully integrated in the Swedish state’s registers.

Insaver also offers home insurance. Right now, home insurance is not available as an online service, but the company offers good deals via its call centre – where staff all speak English. Customers who buy both home and car insurance policies with the same insurer can get discounts of up to 20 percent.

Especially for expats

For short term expats in Sweden, insuring your home and car can be more of a pain than it is for most people. That’s why Insaver offers two group insurance policies for companies employing expats in Sweden. This way, the expat’s employer is the holder of the insurance policy.

“It means that short-term employees don’t need their own insurance policies. If you’ve got a company with ten people who come and go, you just put them all on the same policy.”

The Hiscox Expatriate Home Insurance policy, provides worldwide cover for all your belongings, including for children at school or university or for why you are on holiday. It also provides for emergency travel and provides insurance for items kept in commercial storage.

Also, if you have particularly high-value furniture or art works in your home, Insaver can provide you with tailored insurance. Under this policy, which covers homes with contents valued at more than 2 million kronor, items are replaced with items of the same value and destroyed items are repaired to the same standard.