Traveling and moving abroad can be exciting, but doesn’t eliminate your need for life insurance. Expats living abroad need financial protection as much or in some cases even more than people living in their home country.
There are a few considerations to take into account if you’re an expat shopping for life insurance, whether you’re an American citizen living abroad or a non-U.S. citizen living in the United States. You’ll also have to make sure things are set up well for your beneficiaries to be able to claim the money from your policy if you pass away.
Can you buy life insurance if you’re an expat?
It can be challenging to buy a life insurance policy if you’re living in a country where you’re not a citizen. Finding an insurance company to work with will be your biggest obstacle.
That’s because insurance companies are all about assessing risk, and they view living outside the country as riskier to your mortality than staying local.
If you’re an American living overseas, getting a policy may be complicated. Most insurers require you to be physically in the United States when you sign your application (even when using an e-signature). And if you need a medical exam, that step in the application process will also need to be completed in the U.S.
If you live more than six months of the year outside of the country, you most likely won’t be able to get coverage from an American company. And even if you spend less than six months in another country that’s considered dangerous (like North Korea or Ukraine, for example,) you may not be able to get coverage.
If you know you want life insurance and are considering the possibility of living outside the U.S., it’s best to get a policy before you move. Keep in mind that it can take six weeks or more between the time you sign your application and officially accept a policy, so make sure to start your application early on.
Learn more about how to buy life insurance
What happens to your life insurance policy if you move abroad?
Your existing life insurance policy won’t be affected by an international address change. If your policy doesn’t have any international travel exclusions (most term life and whole life insurance policies don’t) then your beneficiaries will receive a death benefit no matter where you’re living when you die.
If you die abroad, do your beneficiaries still get the death benefit?
Your life insurance policy will pay out if you die overseas. The only exceptions to this are:
If you have a policy exclusion that explicitly states your policy won’t pay out if you die in a certain country, or
If you intentionally lied on your application. You’ll have to report any future planned international travel when you apply for life insurance. If you omit relevant information, this could be considered fraud, and your insurer may not have to pay the death benefit.
If you die abroad, your specific policy will dictate how your beneficiaries can claim the death benefit, whether you’re living or just traveling in another country.
Life insurance companies typically require three items from your beneficiary to process an insurance claim and pay the death benefit:
A death certificate
Policy documentation
A completed claim form
For international death benefit claims, the insurance company may require some extra documentation, including a W-8BEN form from the IRS.
Your beneficiary may benefit from some support making a foreign death claim. In these cases, they should contact the U.S. Embassy in the country where you died or a lawyer who specializes in international insurance for assistance.
Your beneficiaries will typically need a U.S. bank account to claim the death benefit from a U.S.-based insurance company.
If you have a life insurance policy, it’s crucial that you let your beneficiary know about the policy and how to make a claim if they ever need to. This is especially important if you’re living overseas as an expat.
More about finding your best life insurance policy
Frequently asked questions
Can you get life insurance if you live abroad?
If your permanent residence is outside the U.S., it can be almost impossible to secure coverage with an American company. But some insurers will cover you, especially if you split your time between the U.S. and another country, and spend at least six months per year in the U.S.
What happens to your life insurance policy if you move abroad?
If you have an existing life insurance policy and you move abroad to a location that isn’t excluded from your policy, there won’t be any effect on your coverage. Some insurers set restrictions on international travel, so it’s important to double-check or ask your agent if you plan to move within the first few years of owning the policy (known as the contestability period).
