THE WAYPOINT SUR
Will we be reimbursed or not?
Two separate steps
A reader sent us the news on Tuesday: Málaga has stopped imposing new fines for its low-emission zone. The Zona de Bajas Emisiones — low-emission zone (ZBE) restricted vehicle access, enforced by camera fines. Mobility councillor Trinidad Hernández confirmed the stop from Wednesday 14 October.
Our read: stopping new fines and settling the ones already issued are two separate steps. Málaga has taken the first; existing fines are under review. As of 14 October we found no instruction on them on the city's ZBE page or at Gestrisam, its tax and fines collection agency. Your deadline may still be running, so ask Gestrisam in writing where your fine stands.
This is also our first monthly look back at what we got wrong, starting with April's claim of a 30-day window to leave a private health policy. There is no window. Written notice must arrive at your insurer at least one calendar month before your current policy period ends.
What changed in Málaga, and what has not
The Andalusian high court ruled against the zone's access provisions on 6 May 2026. Its clarification, requested by the city and received on 13 October, identifies articles 9 to 11 of Málaga's mobility ordinance as annulled, not the whole ordinance.
Diario Sur reported on 13 October that the city will not appeal to the Supreme Court, will take at least a year to rewrite the ordinance's sanctions provisions, and will drop the planned late-November extension to B-label cars.
The city's 46,562 fine proposals cover 1 December 2025 to 31 July 2026, cumulatively across all stages; they are not paid fines or open files. On 14 October the councillor said the city's revenue bodies will examine the existing procedures and the stage each is at (Europa Press).
On 6 October we reported the rules as they stood: with one fine, €100 within 20 days could make sense. Doing nothing could turn the notice into the sanction after 20 days, with €200 enforceable once 30 calendar days from notification had passed. The rules have changed since: no new fines, existing ones under review.
If you hold an unpaid ZBE fine. Write to Gestrisam and ask for its status and your payment and challenge deadlines. Asking does not stop those deadlines; the 20 days run from the day after notification. Waiting for an announcement could cost you the €100 price if your fine stays enforceable. Paying at the reduced price normally ends your right to challenge it administratively. Keep every notice and receipt.
If your fine is final and fully paid. Our read of article 73 of the administrative courts law (LJCA) is that the annulment does not by itself reopen it. A refund procedure may yet be published.
In July 2021 the Constitutional Court struck down the confinement rules of the first (2020) state of alarm, and setting up refunds took months and needed paperwork: the government announced them on 22 October 2021, asking for bank details; refund powers for final sanctions were delegated on 21 December 2021; the Basque government opened its process, paid fines included, on 1 February 2022. The Objective, citing Hacienda accounting data, reported €25.9 million in central-government refunds recorded from 15 July 2021 to 3 October 2025.
Our test for Málaga measures a published route, not money back: by 31 December 2026, does the city or Gestrisam publish a procedure covering ZBE fines already paid?
Some Updates on what we’ve reported in the past
Wrong: the insurance notice deadline. On 20 April we twice described a 30-day window to leave a private health policy. Under article 22.2 of the insurance contract law (Ley 50/1980), written notice must arrive at least one calendar month before the current policy period ends. The insurer must tell you of contract changes at least two months before the period ends (article 22.3). Our 23 July and 8 September issues had this right; 20 April did not.
The action: find the date your current policy period ends, printed in the policy. A year ending 31 December means notice by 30 November. Earlier is fine.
Our private health insurance comparison states the rule correctly. For help finding that date, sending the written notice or comparing a switch, our Navigator service does the follow-through: €30-an-hour blocks with an estimate before we start, and if someone else is better placed, we say so.
Too broad: surgery waiting periods. On 9 March we printed that surgery and specialist cover carries a longer waiting period, sometimes three to six months.
Sanitas Más Salud: three months for surgery groups 0 to II, 10 for hospitalisation and groups III to VIII, six for complex scans. DKV Integral: six, eight and six months respectively. Asisa Completa (2023 conditions, Ocaso edition): six for ambulatory surgery, eight for hospitalisation and day hospital. Cigna (2025 conditions): six for the benefits in its article 2.7, urgent life-threatening cases excepted. "Three to six" held for the smaller surgical groups at Sanitas and DKV, not for hospitalisation, and it wrongly lumped specialist consultations in with surgery.
Before switching, check your surgical group in your insurer's table, and get any waiver of waiting periods in writing before cancelling.
Wrong: the public-healthcare pay-in fee. On 3 April we printed that the convenio especial — pay-in agreement for public healthcare costs approximately €60 a month. It is €60 a month under 65 and €157 from 65 (Royal Decree 576/2013, article 6.1; the SAS, the Andalusian health service, page updated 22 May 2026). We printed this split in September and October. Neither source says which month the higher fee starts; ask the SAS in writing.
Wrong: the electricity bill band. On 9 April we printed that a typical 300-kWh month on the regulated tariff (PVPC) had stayed in the €35 to €60 range. For the OCU consumer group's modelled household (4.6 kW, 292 kWh, regulated tariff, all taxes included; not a Costa average), 11 of the 12 months from April 2025 to March 2026 came in above €60, and September 2026 was €86.22. We also set a Spanish per-kWh figure beside foreign prices without establishing they were comparable. And the November VAT and electricity-tax cut did not activate: the electricity price index rose 11.4% in the year to September, under the 15% trigger (national statistics institute INE, 14 October; Royal Decree-Law 25/2026).
Moved: the doctors' strike. On 7 October, after the general election was called, the committee postponed the indefinite strike planned from 28 October. The call stays in force, with no new date. Keep SAS bookings and confirm with your health centre; our public-healthcare strike playbook covers the day itself.
Confirmed October 2026
Spanish-lite
período de carencia — waiting period
The bottom line
Málaga has stopped imposing new ZBE fines; existing fines are under review, so check your deadlines in writing. To leave a private health policy, written notice must reach the insurer at least one calendar month before the period ends.
Nearly there — A. and the WaypointSur team, reading our own fine print.
