Life insurance across borders

The labels below are ways policies are commonly described. A name on a brochure is less useful than the term, what happens to the sum over time, and what the contract does at the end. None of these is recommended here.

A nomination names who should receive a payment. It can sit alongside a will, and it can disagree with one. Ownership of the policy is a separate question: the owner may be able to change the nomination. If the proceeds fall into the estate, local administration may apply. A spouse, children, or a trust are common intentions. Whether a minor can receive money directly, and whether the law of a new country affects a nomination made at home, are questions for the insurer and for a lawyer.

A life policy is issued to a person in a place, under a set of rules. After a move, the insurer may need to be told. Servicing — premiums, notices, a claim — may be handled differently from the new country. An existing policy may be able to continue. A new one may be underwritten again, on the facts at that time, including age and health. How you pay the premium can also change if the account or the currency changes. Ask in writing before you rely on the old schedule.

Some work and some pastimes are treated as a different risk from an office job and ordinary travel. Aviation, offshore work, other hazardous occupations, high-risk sports and very frequent travel are examples insurers often ask about. Whether they change the terms is their decision, on the activity you actually do. Disclose what the form asks for. A hobby that has become regular is still part of the answer.

Death-in-service and group life are arranged by an employer. They may cover you, and sometimes dependants, while you are employed and while the countries match that scheme. Group underwriting can differ from a policy you buy yourself. International portability is a question for that scheme. When the employment ends, this cover can end with it, including at the end of notice or garden leave if that is what the rules say.

Key-person cover is the idea of insuring someone whose absence would hurt the business. Shareholder protection is the idea of funding a purchase of shares if an owner dies. A policy can also be discussed alongside a business loan. These are concepts. They are not a structure this page recommends, and they are not a substitute for a shareholders’ agreement or for legal advice. The company, the other owners and the family may not want the same thing.

Whoever is claiming will usually be asked for a death certificate, a claim form, and evidence of who is entitled to be paid. Medical records can be requested where the policy makes them relevant. Proof of policy ownership matters if the owner and the beneficiary are different people. A death in another country can mean documents in another language, or a local certificate that has to be accepted elsewhere. Ask the insurer which papers they need before you assume a family member will know.

Put these to the insurer, or to a regulated adviser who can see the policy. The answers belong to that contract.

Each of these is a set of questions, not an outcome.