International life insurance is hard to sell to expats.
The increased cost of international life insurance policies means many expats are going without. According to Health Insurance Magazine critical insurance cover and other protection policies, such as life insurance, become very hard to sell once a client moves abroad.International private medical insurance (iPMI) is comparatively easy to sell and remains the focus of most insurance brokers.
A change in EU law caused the price of protection insurance to rise sharply. Insurers were forced to create separate funds for international business.
Steve Nelson, sales manager at April Medibroker told Health Insurance Magazine, “the cost is often so high our clients don’t want to know.
“I can’t see why somebody living in Dubai should pay appreciably more for life insurance than somebody in the UK. After all, the payout is just the same.”
Many expats are under the impression that their domestic insurance covers them when they move abroad. However, if they move abroad permanently their policies are no longer effective.
Nelson went on to add, “Life insurance doesn’t seem a priority when people are moving abroad, that isn’t a chance I would like to take.”
According to a recent Expat Health blog post, critical insurance cover is among the protection products that consumers find the hardest to understand. If policies were clearer it is likely more expats would shop around and feel more confident buying life and critical insurance cover.