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If you’re already living or thinking of moving abroad, you will need a source of income. But what if your best-made plans break down? Whether by illness, an accident or injury that prevents you from working, one of the worst-case scenarios when living abroad can be loss of income. In these situations, it’s good to have a Plan B to support yourself and your family with expat income protection insurance.
International income protection insurance is a form of insurance that will cover you if you become ill or injured and unable to earn money while living overseas.
Anything could happen while you are living abroad, whether an In these events, you may find yourself unable to work and – depending on the social security system in your new country and your contractual rights to sick pay – you may find yourself without a sustainable level of income.
Expat income protection is the best way to safeguard yourself and your family while living overseas, especially if:
It’s especially important for expats, as you are likely to have monthly costs that you will need to meet, such as:
At William Russell, your international income protection policy pays out so long as you are signed off work for at least as long as your deferment period, covering up to 80% of your insured salary (up to a maximum of US$144,000 per annum).
As far as we know, no country requires expats to have international income protection by law. However, as an expat, you should be aware of the local laws in your new country and how they affect you, especially those related to welfare/social security, sick pay and disability pay. This is because:
When shopping around for an expat income protection policy to suit you or your employees, look for factors such as these:
The costs of taking out expat income protection insurance are affected by:
Absolutely! You can apply for expat income protection insurance through the same process as an employed person. If you are self-employed and your earnings fluctuate, we will use your average earnings over the three-year period before your last day at work as the basis of your usual income. You can then apply for expat income protection insurance as normal.
When looking for an insurer to provide expat income protection for yourself and your employees, you’ll want someone who:
Applying for expat income protection insurance, whether for yourself or on behalf of your global workforce, is easy. Simply click the button below and enter your or your company’s details to get a quote. See our Feefo reviews.
You’ll know if you and your employees are eligible for a Group policy if:
You and your employees are even unlikely to need a medical examination to apply for cover, so long as you and your employees are under 50 years old, fit and healthy, and applying for cover of less than US$75,000.
Groups can have cover up to $200,000 if their salary allows.
The indicative prices below give you a ballpark figure for how much cover might cost. We can also cover groups of employees.
Indicative price for a 30-year-old living in Singapore covering their salary up to US$50,000 (6-month deferment period)
Indicative price for a 45-year-old living in Hong Kong covering their salary up to US$50,000 (6-month deferment period)
Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about expat income protection and insurance plans from William Russell.
When you are applying for cover think about:
You can insure up to 80% of your annual earnings, but if you make a claim, the amount we would pay you would be the lower of:
So the amount you can claim will be reduced if any other income plus the income you have insured, are more than 80% of your pre-disability earnings.
If you are self-employed and your earnings fluctuate, we will use your average earnings over the three-year period before your last day at work.
In most cases, we can only provide income protection to expats. By expat, we mean people living and working outside of their country of nationality (e.g., a German national living in Thailand, an American national living in Chile). Typically, our members reside permanently in a foreign country. But we can sometimes provide income protection to people expecting to spend at least 6 months of the year living or travelling abroad. In certain countries, we can cover people living in the same country that issues their passport. These countries are Botswana, Kenya, Nigeria, Mauritius, Estonia and Malawi.
As soon as you know you are likely to be off work for longer than your deferment period, contact us for a disability claim form.
We will then contact the doctor who is treating you to get the information we’ll need.
Once your claim has been assessed and agreed, and your chosen waiting period ends, your income payments will start. No income will be paid during or for the waiting period. If, after becoming eligible for income from your plan you return to work then suffer a relapse within six months, your payments will re-start immediately. You won’t have to go through another waiting period.
With our plans there’s often no need for a medical exam or reports.
If you are under 50, fit and healthy, and applying for cover of less than US$75,000 we may be able to offer you cover straightaway. Otherwise, we’ll let you know if we have any medical requirements. If we do, you can go to a nearby clinic to get your exam done, and we will reimburse you once your policy starts.
The working week can look very different depending on the country you are working in, with many factors like paid time off, working hours and minimum wages varying wildly from place to place. This is something that expats will need to consider when making the decision to up sticks and move to another country for work, as they may be surprised by the level of workplace benefits differing from what they’re used to. We investigated some of the different employment benefits across the world to reveal the countries that could be the most attractive for prospective expats.
How do you choose a partner to help you settle into your new life overseas? We recommend choosing one with 30 years’ experience providing insurance exclusively to expatriates like you.
At William Russell, we go the extra mile to make sure our members are not only kept safe but get to enjoy the highest quality of life possible overseas. Our dedicated account managers are famous for their highly personalised service, and making a claim is as easy as filling in an online form.
Things sometimes go wrong. But when you choose William Russell as your provider of international income protection insurance, you’ll know you’re in the safest possible hands. Speak to us today to find out more about expat income protection insurance for individuals and for businesses.
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