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Why Your Life Insurance Stops Working When You're An Expat

Clive Macdonald

What You Should Know So Far About Expat Life Insurance!

Life Insurance For Expats

In our last post we talked about making certain assumptions and the issues that they can create for you.

 

If you're an expat, the impact that they have on you can create some serious financial consequences.

 

We highlighted why one of the most important things that you need to do is to confirm your life cover with your existing insurer. Even if you've done a change of address which they've acknowledged!

 

They might even still be collecting the premiums for the policy every month. Though this doesn’t mean that your life insurance is going to work if you’re an expat.


It’s all really confusing, there’s so many mixed messages here, we understand that…

 

Having said this, we can’t stress how important it is for you to ask your life insurance company the right questions.

 

That’s why we've put together the "Expat Life Insurance Confirmation Pack". It gives you everything you need so you can make sure your life cover works.

 

The most important thing is that it makes the process as simple as possible for you.

 

Click below to get your FREE copy now!

Effective Life Insurance For Expat

What's Next?

Given all of that, it would seem fair to assume that your life insurance is still working.

 

The thing is, we know that there’s a really big chance that it’s not! We've showed you why this is a very dangerous assumption to make. That's because 80% of all domestic insurers will not extend cover if you move to another country.

 

We also highlighted why it doesn't even matter if your policy is with a large global insurer. You'll still have a domestic policy, and the results will be exactly the same.

 

It's OK telling you that this is going to happen...

 

Why should you take our word for it?

 

Today we’re going to show you why!

 

We’re going to explain exactly why most life insurance policies don't cover you after moving to another country.

 

So, let's get started!


Underwriting

Global Life Coverage For Expat Families

When you apply for any form of insurance you go through a process called underwriting.

 

This is where the insurance company assesses your personal circumstances. They do this to see how risky it would be to take you on as a customer.

 

What risks do you present to them?

 

How likely is it that they're going to have to pay a claim on the policy that you're applying for?

 

When we're talking about life insurance it comes down to this...

 

What are the chances of you dying before the end of your selected policy term?

 

The higher or lower the chances are of this happening determines how much you're going to pay for your cover.

 

Yes, you've got it. The higher that risk is, the more it's going to cost you.

 

Even if an insurance company tells you that there's no need for a medical, it doesn't mean that they're not assessing your health status as a risk factor.

 

There are many things that have an impact on this underwriting process.

 

Some of these will relate to your personal circumstances & lifestyle.

 

For example:

·       Age

·       Weight

·       Smoking Status

·       Health Status

·       Alcohol Intake

·       Sporting Activities

·       Travel

 

Others though relate to your environment or employment.

 

These environmental factors are affected by where you live. So, this is something that they'll take into consideration during the application process.

 

Their assessment of those factors is extremely accurate and comprehensive. They use actuaries to constantly assess any changes in mortality and morbidity rates within a country.

 

What are the factors that have an impact on these rates?

 

Are there any ongoing trends that are having a significant impact on them?

 

They constantly look at this and as a result they have very accurate information for the location where they operate. The question that they want to answer is always, how does that affect the chances of there being a claim on your policy?

 

So, your application gets accepted, and the cost of that cover is set.

 

Here’s the thing what happens when you move to another country and those environmental factors change?

 

That’s what we’re going to move onto next…

 

Moving Countries

So, we’ve already highlighted the issue with moving countries but what's the big deal?

 

Well, some of that will depend on where you go...

 

With trading blocs such as the EU for example moving countries isn't such a big issue. That's because essentially, you're staying within the same region.

 

The EU has set up financial rules that extend across its entirety. Financial providers within it know what these are and more importantly have access to the whole marketplace. That means they're able to make an assessment on the whole region. That’s because they have this information to hand, and it gets factored in from the start.

 

So, if you move from one country to another within the EU then the chances are that it’s already been accounted for.

 

They've looked at the chances of anything happening to you across the whole region. That's reflected in the premium that you're paying so if you move elsewhere in the EU, your cover continues.

Life Insurance For Expat Life

Now, the issue arises when you move outside of the country or region where you set up the policy.

 

That's because at this point those risk parameters that were carefully assessed by the insurance company have changed. The basis that your policy was accepted on is now different.

 

That means that the chances of a claim being made have also changed.

 

What you're paying for your insurance may no longer reflect the risk that the insurer is taking.

 

Guess what?

 

Insurance companies don't like being in this situation…


This Is How They Deal With It!

As we've discussed before the most common course of action is they stop providing you with life cover. Usually there's a 6-month grace period and then it ends.

 

Now as you'll notice we've said in most cases. That's because there are some domestic life policies that do extend cover.

 

Some of them will have a list of countries that are acceptable. If you move to one of these, then there'll be a seamless transition for your policy.

 

If you move to a country that's not on that list, then your cover is going to end.

 

Then we have other insurance companies that extend cover without any country definitions. Though they do have conditions that need meeting if policy is going to continue.

Usually, the condition is that premiums must still be paid from a bank account in the same country as the insurer. If you can't do that then cover will end as we showed you before.

 

Now, here's something that's very important for you to understand…

 

An insurance company may keep covering you in the place where you’re currently living. That doesn't mean that if you move somewhere else the status quo will be preserved.

 

That goes for all of the examples that we’ve given of life insurers continuing to provide cover in another country.

 

It's important that if you're an expat, that you check this with the insurance company EVERY time you move to another country.

 

In a moment we're going to clarify why this is so important...

 

First of all, we want to help you make sure that you have cover. We want to make it as easy as possible for you to do this.

 

So, we've put together a "FREE Expat Life Insurance Confirmation Pack".

 

To get your copy then CLICK BELOW Now!

Life Insurance That Works For Expats

Things That Should Always Remember

So, as we've just mentioned an insurance company accepting the country that you live now and keeping your cover going...


Doesn't mean that they'll automatically do the same if you move elsewhere.


Here are some factors that you should always keep in mind!


Always Check!

This is so IMPORTANT we're going to say it again!

 

Submitting a change of address and premiums being collected doesn’t mean you have ongoing life cover.

 

If your insurance company has told you they don’t have an issue providing overseas cover, don’t take that for granted when you move somewhere else.

 

They may have updated there Terms & Conditions since then and had a complete policy change. This frequently happens.

 

The company management may have changed and so has the companies priorities. There may have been a change risk factors which has meant that they’ve become more cautious.

 

You may no longer meet the conditions that they set to accept overseas life cover.

 

Or you could be moving to a country that isn’t on their list of acceptable countries.

 

So, that’s why it’s so important that you ALWAYs check and ask then the question…

 

Am I still covered if I live here?


Sometimes It's Just Too Risky!

Something else that goes hand in hand with our last point.

 

Is this....

 

There are countries that no insurance company is prepared to extend cover to.

 

They view them as being too risky for whatever reasons.

Life Insurance For Expat Families

Whether they're war torn or there's domestic risks that makes them unacceptable.

 

Even if your insurer says they don’t have limitations then that’s not strictly true. There’ll be places that they won’t accept because of the risk associated with them.

 

This list changes, all the time…

 

Take Ukraine for example three years ago this country would have been acceptable.

 

Today it isn’t!

 

Again this is why you don’t make those financially damaging assumption.

 

And you ask that very simple question


Remember They're The Exception And Not The Rule

Just to be clear it's around 80% of insurance companies that won't extend life cover to another country. That means that in the majority of cases six months after moving countries your cover stops.

 

The ones that do extend the life of a policy to another country are in the minority!

 

Even for the ones that do, they do so conditionally (even if they say different).

 

If your circumstances change, then that cover could still end.

 

When you’re moving countries you’ve got to find out if your cover is still going to work.

 

Don’t keep paying for something that is going to let down the people that you love, right when they need it the most!

 

As we've mentioned there is one way for an expat to check if they've still got cover. We've put that and much more into a "FREE Expat Life Insurance Confirmation Pack" for you.

 

We've made it as easy as it possibly can be for you to get the confirmation that you need.

 

So, you can have the peace of mind in knowing that your family have the financial security that they deserve.

 

To get your copy NOW, CLICK BELOW!

Expat Life Cover

That's it from us for now, we look forward to meeting up again next week.

 

We’ll be looking at the impact that it would have on your family if your life cover failed.

 

Thanks for reading!

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