Last Updated on 7th March 2025
As a long-established and highly experienced international network of private wealth managers, investment professionals, tax specialists and consultants, we work with a vast range of clients. That might involve help with navigating the complexities of cross-border moves, relocating businesses, handling tax efficiencies and planning for long-term financial security.
One of the many aspects of our full-scope services that expatriates often overlook is insurance coverage – from safeguarding belongings being shipped to ensuring their banking and savings are protected and that they have the necessary contingencies in place if they need emergency medical assistance.
Here we’ll clarify the value independent financial advisers offer when selecting a comprehensive life and critical illness policy for an overseas expat, the reasons a stable amount of coverage is essential, and the risks so often linked with buying a product off the shelf or based solely on cost.
Why Is Critical Illness Insurance and Life Coverage an Integral Part of Expatriate Financial Planning?
We’re all familiar with insurance, and any one family might hold multiple policies, insuring their homes, assets, businesses, cars, and pets, among many other aspects of life. An increasing proportion of people also appreciate that life insurance isn’t a nice to have but an essential aspect of strategic planning, ensuring loved ones and dependents have a secure safety net should the worst happen.
For expatriates, a solid, reliable and cost-effective policy becomes more fundamental alongside personalised critical illness coverage. That is because:
- Many UK policies or providers do not cover international travel, exclude repatriation, or have significant exclusions. This means an existing life and critical illness policy might lose validity once you move or represent poor value for money.
- A product purchased as a British resident is likely to omit specific inclusions you might depend on – including the repatriation we’ve mentioned, which can be hugely important if you or a loved one become unwell or experience a serious injury.
- Visa criteria for almost all residency and work permits expect applicants to prove they have suitable health coverage. However, that mandatory policy may not cover every eventuality or might cease to be suited to your circumstances once you settle overseas.
We’ve spoken before about the need for relevant, contextual professional advice and how a stumbling block is often that the advice you’ve sought from an IFA who can advise solely on products or coverage for UK residents is less applicable to expats or is provided without any knowledge or consideration of tax frameworks overseas.
You can read more about the latter topic through our guide, Can an Accredited UK-Based Independent Financial Adviser Provide the Best Support for Expatriate Clients?
How Could an International Relocation Affect My Current Life and Critical Illness Insurance Coverage?
While most life insurance products aren’t immediately invalidated because you have moved, they do rely on having up-to-date information about your place of residence, circumstances, and travel plans.
This means you must update your provider and check how this affects the coverage in place or the cost of your premiums.
In much the same way, critical illness coverage might remain in force, but that could depend on where you move. Some countries have bilateral agreements in place, which would mean a policy might pay out provided you can prove the validity of your claim, whereas others have jurisdictional limitations, often for expats who move somewhere other than Europe, Australia or North America.
Income protection policies, which are often a feature of critical illness cover, can also vary depending on where you now live, whether you had informed your provider, their confirmation of whether the policy would apply in your new place of residence, and the length of time you have lived overseas – often with income protection limited to a maximum of 12 months.
Why Aren’t Off the Shelf Health and Life Insurance Products Appropriate for Expatriates?
Like every type of insurance product you might purchase, the right options aren’t only about the lowest cost policy but about selecting coverage that matches your expectations and key concerns, offers the stability you need, and ensures that if an unexpected situation happens, you won’t be left struggling financially.
Professionals across the sector continue to stress the importance of taking advice since expatriate medical, life and critical illness cover is a specialist area, and any product you buy online could have considerable drawbacks that are difficult to spot without the necessary expertise.
As we’ve indicated, most standard life insurance products aren’t created with expatriates in mind. The complexities of a cross-border move, exposure to wealth taxation, changes in succession rules, and inheritance tax liabilities could all make a seemingly beneficial policy in one country invalid in another.
Independent Guidance on the Best Possible Life and Critical Illness Coverage for Expatriates
Life insurance and critical illness cover are usually policies you hope not to use – but if something does happen, they can be of enormous importance to you and your loved ones, covering medical costs, enabling you or a partner to return home, and providing the financial assistance needed to sustain your lifestyle and outgoings if your earnings or circumstances change.
We always emphasise the importance of proper financial protection because even the best-managed wealth and portfolio could be exposed to risk and pressure, particularly where you might rely on one income stream or source of revenue that a death or serious illness would impact.
If you become ill, injured, or pass away, a country-specific policy offers the peace of mind that every scenario is fully insured and that you have a contingency plan in place—without any doubts or worries about the scope of that protection, the likelihood that your policy will payout, or what your insurance is worth.
You are welcome to visit our Life and Critical Illness Insurance pages to learn more about these types of insurance and why they are so important for expatriates.
Alternatively, you can schedule a confidential call with a Chase Buchanan seasoned independent financial adviser or expat financial planning specialist to discuss your circumstances.
*Information correct as at March 2025