Expat Life Insurance
For someone who is residing in a country that isn’t their native one, whether it’s for work or personal reasons, it is still important to take out expat life insurance cover, especially if you are thinking of living and/or working in a place that is deemed high risk.
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Generally speaking, the main reason for having expat life cover is the same as if you were a UK resident: to protect your loved ones and family if the worst is to happen.
Most UK Insurance brokers don’t offer insurance for expats, but Perfect Life draws on it’s international experience to offer you a range of solutions, wherever you live and whatever your requirements.
If you’re seeking expat life insurance, the two main general types of cover you should be aware of are:
Term Life Insurance
If you take out term life insurance, you will pay cover over a certain time frame and should you die during this period, your family will receive a lump sum payout to cover your financial absence. However, with term life insurance, if you don’t die in the policy period, then you aren’t protected.
Whole of Life Insurance
As the name suggests, whole of life offers protection for the entire duration of your life until your eventual death, so there is no time limit on the cover you receive. Due to this non-stop cover, the premiums for whole of life insurance are higher than term life insurance but, your payout is guaranteed, no matter when you die.
Factors to consider when applying for expat life insurance:
One thing that is extremely influential on whether you will be accepted for life insurance is the place you will be moving to. Lots of people may not consider that living somewhere high risk, where there’s essentially more chance of you dying, will restrict the number of insurers who will offer you expat life insurance.
High-risk zones can be those that are subject to natural disasters such as flooding and earthquakes, as well as those with a high level of warzone violence.
If you are seeking expat life insurance, you may be relocating somewhere abroad for career purposes. If this the case, then applying for life insurance could be a little more difficult depending on how dangerous the work is. For example, if you are working on an oil rig in the UAE, you may be deemed more of a risk than someone working in an office based role.
Unlike increasing insurance life, it doesn’t protect your family’s lifestyle.
If you move abroad with your family and become the main household earner, you may be heavily relied upon financially. If the worst is to happen and you don’t have life cover, your family could be in a position where they are struggling financially. This means your partner or significant other may have to get a job themselves in order to keep themselves financially stable, which can be extremely difficult in an unfamiliar country with different requirements and qualification preferences. In addition to this, if there are children involved, there could be an added expense of childcare costs if there is nobody around to look after them. Again, in an unfamiliar country, the price of childcare can be very different from the UK, which is another financial burden as a result of not taking out expat life insurance if you relocate abroad.
This added expense has a knock on effect and in the absence of the main earner, paying for general living expenses such as groceries and rent/mortgage payments can be a real struggle without an expat life insurance payout.
Unlike increasing insurance life, it doesn’t protect your family’s lifestyle.