When you become an expat you change many aspects of your life – your job, your hobbies, your lifestyle, your marital and home-ownership status.  These issues have a bearing on your life insurance and critical illness policies as they are all factors considered by your insurer to work out how much your premium will cost to insure you.

So when anything changes you are absolutely obliged to tell your insurance company so that they can review your premium.  If you fail to inform them and a claim is made, they will look at the factors that have changed and which they have not been informed about and unfortunately may use them as an excuse not to pay out.

Insurers never want to pay out – they will always work very hard to prove that a policy is invalid.  If you have an obvious change in circumstances to that which they have documented – for example, if you were living abroad when you died but you took the policy out in your home country – this may mean they refuse to pay.

Also, you may find that the move abroad has changed your circumstances sufficiently to mean you don’t have enough cover or now have too much. The laws relating to inheritance tax, the management of a deceased person’s estate and succession differ all over the world – which is why you need a valid Will as an expat – and which is why you need to ensure you have enough life cover to pay all bills, meet all obligations, cover any taxes and to ensure that your dependents are provided for.

Look at your policy and make sure it is the right policy for you and your family now that you’re living abroad.  Consider writing it in to trust and take advice about the management of your financial affairs and writing a Will.

This information has been brought to you by Holborn Assets Limited, a British run financial services company that has been providing insurance and wealth management services in the region since 1999. For more information please contact info@holbornpremier.com or call 00971 (0)4457 3912.