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How Expats Make Astonishing Savings With Targeted Life cover!
Monday, 25 January, 2021
Target your cover
to save on premiums
Introduction
So, if you’re an expat you probably fall into one of three categories when it comes to life insurance.
You’ve got a policy that you set up back home and you’re still paying premiums every month from your UK bank account.
Or
You may have set up cover since you became an expat. It could very well be a single policy that takes care of all your life insurance needs.
Or
You don’t have any life insurance at all!
If you fall into any of these categories, you’ve got issues. And they could prove to be very expensive, for either your family or you.
Keep doing the same thing
So, if you’re still paying the premiums on the policy you set up back home let’s start with you.
Well the bad news is that there’s a 90% chance that this policy is not going to provide cover anymore…
Yes, you’ve read that right and its completely correct.
The thing is 9 out of 10 domestic life insurance policies stop cover after six months of living abroad…
If anyone needs to make a claim on the policy it’s not going to pay!
The very best your loved ones could expect is the insurer returning your premiums.
Imagine that, what would it mean for your family?
Yes, it would be devastating for them!
Otherwise why have the policy at all. Right?
In the worst case, they get nothing at all. The money that you’re paying now is gone.
Either situation it would be disastrous for your family.
We’ve delved deeper into this issue in in our “Life Insurance Series“.
Follow the link to find out how to discover if this situation applies to you. Also learn get more information and read this series.
But first keep reading to find out how you can make massive savings on your life insurance…
a job lot
If you set up a policy since you’ve been living abroad, the likelihood is it was one to deal with everything.
Hopefully, you’ve used an international policy and if you did, here’s a big thumbs up to you for doing that.
If you’ve used a local policy from the country where you’re living now. Then you could have created some issues for yourself down the line.
What if you get reposted or move to another country? Sorry to be the bearer of bad news… This policy is going to stop covering you.
If you’ve had any health issues along the way then you may not be able to get anymore cover anymore. What then?
Again we cover this in more detail in our “Life Insurance” series.
Though for now it’s enough to say…
The only legitimate life insurance option for an expat is an INTERNATIONAL POLICY!
Now back to the issue at hand.
How did you work out how much life insurance you needed?
Was it a guesstimate?
How long exactly do you need cover for?
Does everything that you’re covering have the exact same timeframe?
Having a single policy to cover every eventuality…
Will mean that you end up paying thousands, even tens of thousands extra overtime.
Your life insurance will cost you way more than it needed to!
It’s a one size fits all approach and it’s always an expensive strategy.
Doing nothing
If you don’t have life insurance, then you may want to start thinking about putting that right.
Don’t think that you need it?
Well, this is a definite…
If you’ve got debt or people who depend on your income.
Who’s going to finance that debt if you’re not around or how do those who depend on you pay the bills?
So, it’s time to start the ball rolling and getting some life cover sorted out!
The upside is if you haven’t done anything yet, you can get it right from the start.
the good news
Why end up paying more than you need for longer than you should do?
The fantastic news is that there’s no reason why you should.
You can have effective life insurance that pays benefits fast. And there’s no need to keep over the odds for it!
We’ll take you step by step and show you exactly how you can make these huge savings for yourself.
First lets talk about what we’ve done to help you…
At Advisers Worldwide we’ve developed a unique strategy for expat life insurance. We’ve done this so that you pay less for the life cover that you need.
It also means that you’ll have a comprehensive protection plan for your family. And you’ll only have the cover for the exact time that you need it!
Not only that you’ll have life insurance benefits that are completely portable. Giving you cover in whichever country you live.
No risk of getting stuck, unable to set up a policy and protect your loved ones.
We’ll also make sure that your life insurance is set up so it pays without delay from probate and…
Doesn’t get hit with estate or inheritance taxes.
We developed this process so it’s easy to understand!
Simple steps that everyone can follow
Plus you’ll have access to extra information that gives more detail on parts of the process.
Don’t worry, even if you never dealt with life insurance before. Or you struggle with anything a financial nature.
You’ll find our process simple to do.
Sounds EASY right?
So if you’re ready to save yourself thousands in unnecessary life insurance premiums…
Then keep on reading!
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Introducing The Life Split Strategy For Expats. How You Can Save Thousands On Your Life Insurance Premiums!
Life Split is a strategy that we’ve developed to help you as an expat save on their life insurance costs. Whilst also ensuring that you have effective cover wherever you live.
It provides you with a targeted approach to life cover and gets over the complications of being an expat
This strategy identifies and separates your individual life insurance needs. Life Split helps you to find out what and how much you need in each of these areas.
Enabling you to use the most suitable solution for each particular need that you have.
We’re helping you ensure that you’ve got the right type and amount of life insurance at any given time.
And by reinforcing the importance of international life insurance to you as an expat. You can guarantee that you’ve always got cover wherever you live.
Even if you’re getting moved to another country, your cover is going to continue!
Irrespective of any changes in your health, you’ll have portable life insurance.
What this means for you is your family’s not exposed to financial risk.
Also by targeting each specific reason for needing life cover, you won’t be over insured.
So, you’re not paying for cover that you don’t need. Or more to the point you’re not paying for cover that you once needed but don’t anymore.
Life split helps you build flexibility into your protection strategy.
And that will end up saving you thousands or even tens of thousands in unnecessary premiums.
All this without compromising the quality of your coverage. In fact in most cases your cover will be even more comprehensive.
Imagine that!
Having the peace of mind from knowing that you’ve provided the resources you family needs. You’ve done this for them whilst saving money at the same time.
Amazing, right?
Life Split is a straight forward strategy. And it’s going to help you figure out the best approach to life cover for your circumstances.
It will also help you make sure that you’re always using the best solutions as well.
And you’ll be able to do all this without having mountains of extra work.
We’ll help you look at each separate area and easily quantify how much cover you need to meet it.
Easy Right?
Let’s move on and take a look at the steps that make up the Life Split Strategy!
how the life split strategy saves you money on your insurance premiums!
- Establish the amount of debt you have right now!
- Look at the repayment timeframe for the debts that you have.
- Determine how much cover it would take to protect your family if they lost you and your income.
- If you have any specialist protection needs, such as a family member with disability. Quantify the cover to provide them with the resources that they would need.
- Choose the best policy type for each individual life cover area.
- Set up the policy on the most suitable basis for that particular life insurance need.
Okay so let’s break this down and look at each step in more detail.
establish your debt level
What should you be looking at?
Well, the answer to that is the larger debts with repayment schedules over the medium to long term. Mortgages are a perfect example you can even consider large personal loans.
If you have a debt linked to a company for which you’re a personal guarantor. Then you may want to make sure this gets covered and your family aren’t left exposed.
For any credit card or small debts then include them as part of your family protection provision. Add your credit limit amount to this figure and that should keep your family covered.
Why are we looking at debt at all especially mortgages?
The thing is, if anything happens to you, that debt isn’t going to go away. It becomes your family’s responsibility and they’re expected to repay it.
So, your mortgage lender would still want the mortgage repayments to keep coming. Irrespective of whether your partner can keep making them or not without your income.
If they can’t, then eventually the lender would repossess the property.
At which point the only focus is them getting their money back. The property gets sold below market value and your family would be lucky to get anything back from the sale.
“It’s a property they can always sell it and clear the mortgage” you may be saying.
And you’d be right they could.
How long is that going to take? Even in a good market it could take 6 to 8 months for a sale to complete.
If the housing market’s depressed then it could take years!
All the time the debts going up with penalties and interest on interest. As that happens the risk of repossession becomes greater.
What if they do manage to sell what then?
If they couldn’t afford the mortgage on that property then aren’t they going to have to downgrade?
The longer the mortgage went unpaid the bigger the downgrade is going to be.
This is why we cover the debt…
So we know that the people we care about will have a home. And they’re not stressing about how they’re going to keep financing debts.
How do you know how much needs paying back?
Take a look at the last statement that you received from the lender.
If it was a recent one, within the last couple of months, usually you’ll get them annually.
If not then request the outstanding balance figure from the lender.
If you’ve got a balance that’s less than 90 days then that’s what you should be using.
Easy right?
So let’s move onto the next step in the Life Split Strategy and look at the importance of how long we have to pay this debt back…
repayment timeframe
You know how much debt you have, the next step to establish the timeframe for repayment.
What you want to find out is how long you’ve got left before the debts cleared. How many years do you have to keep making repayments.
If you have this information then you can tailor the cover to the debt. Both will have the same timeframe and once you’ve repaid the debt, the life insurance can end.
There’s no need to have cover for a debt that no longer exists, so why keep paying for it?
So how do you find out how much times left on the loan?
Well your statement should tell you this. It should tell you the original term and how longs outstanding.
If your statements not completely up to date then work it out. Do this by taking the number of months that have passed from the outstanding term.
This is the time frame that you should use for the term on your life insurance policy you’re using to cover the debt.
You’ve got that?
Now we’ve looked at debt, we can move onto providing for your family…
how much to protect your family?
The next step is to figure out how much cover you need to take care of your family.
How would they get by if they didn’t have your income?
How do you want your kids to be educated and what will that cost.
Are these resources readily available for your family right now?
Would you want your family to maintain the same standard of living if you weren’t there to provide for them?
Again would they have the resources available to maintain this lifestyle?
Would your spouse/partner work and what level of income are they likely to generate?
Everyones circumstances are different, so these answers will be unique to you!
Though it’s true to say most people who have children, family or dependents want to know they’re taken care of…
And if you’re the primary earner wouldn’t you want to know that they have what they need?
Especially if your partner is a fulltime parent for your young children.
This is going to make it far more difficult for them to go out to work.
You don’t want to think of your partner and kids having to struggle financially.
On the other hand it’s not a lottery win either.
Nor can it be, the sum assured needs to be justifiable otherwise the insurer will question it. If there isn’t a clear basis for cover then your application could get declined.
Life insurance is a way of making sure that if you’re income is no longer available to them. Then there’ll still be money available for them to live on.
So, that’s why this it’s such an important step.
By establishing exactly what your family needs, you can then tailor the cover to their needs.
Doing this way means that you’re are able to save money on insurance premiums over the long term.
Again, that’s because you’re only paying for what you need.
And whilst there’s a bit of work involved in figuring out what’s needed
It will be worth it over time.
We’re not going to go into enormous detail on how to do this with you right now.
As we’ve already highlighted you need to ask questions. Think about how much you need to provide and for how long.
To help you with this we’ve produced a post devoted to this very subject.
We’ve also built a Life Insurance Calculator simplifying the process and making number crunching easier.
Follow the links above and feel free to make use of them.
The next section may not apply to you and if it doesn’t head you may want to skip it.
If it does have some significance to you then, please read on…
specialist protection needs
You’re someone who has a dependent with disabilities. A person wjo in all likelihood will never stop relying on you to provide their care.
There are definitely some similarities here with the last step that we looked at.
Though this time instead of focusing on the whole family. You’ll be looking at the specific needs of an individual.
Depending on the nature of the disability the duration of the provision will also differ.
As we highlighted earlier, they may need the support for the rest of their lives.
So this specialist coverage will need to be ongoing for the whole of your life.
It’s also important to make sure that you protect the proceeds of any policy for them.
You’ll need to establish the cost of any care that you provide for them now. Also any specialist treatment or provisions that they need.
Is there an ongoing cost for their education or developmental therapeutics?
Also are they cared for at home?
If they are then what would be the cost of care in a facility, if you were unable to continue?
Once you’ve established this then it’s becomes very similar to the last step.
Again feel free to follow the previous links and use those resources for this step also.
We know how much and how long, now it’s time to look at the most suitable tools to provide the cover.
choosing the best policy for the job
You’re not looking for a one size fits all solution here…
In fact that approach is the problem and why you’ll end up paying thousands more for your life insurance.
There isn’t a policy that effectively covers your debt, family or disabled dependents. It’s a compromise strategy that will prove expensive over time.
Finding the most suitable policy for a specific purpose will save you tens of thousands.
The best solution for each area we’ve covered is very different from one to the next.
It may seem more complicated having two or three life insurance polices.
Though it needn’t be!
By compromising and using a one size fits all strategy. You’ll end up paying for more than you need and for longer than you need it.
So, how do to find the best policy type for your purposes.
Here are some rules that you can follow, so, you get it right.
covering the debt
Let’s start off with your debt…
If you have a repayment mortgage, the best policy to cover this is a reducing term policy.
Once again, repayment mortgage or loan = reducing term policy
Set the policy up to match the remaining repayment term on your mortgage.
The amount of cover should equal the outstanding value of the mortgage.
Each year as you make repayments, the cover amount will fall to reflect the debt you’ve paid back.
Which means you’re only paying for the cover that you actually need.
And this means that you’ll end up paying less…
Depending on where you live, you may not be able to get an international reducing term policy.
In some jurisdictions they’re not available.
A domestic policy isn’t suitable, for the reasons already mentioned and others as well.
So, if you find yourself in this situation, find a policy that allows you to reduce your sum assured.
If you can’t find one then let us know, we’ll be happy to help.
You’ll be able to do this on an annual basis (it’s easier if you pay an annual premium) though you’ll have to do it yourself.
It won’t happen automatically as it does with a reducing term policy.
You inform the insurer that you want to reduce the cover amount before your next premium is due.
So you’re doing the same thing as a reducing term policy…
The only difference is that with a reducing term policy the fall in cover amount gets dealt with at the start.
That is you pay a lower premium amount throughout the whole policy term. So the premium’s kept at a constant level.
Doing it manually means that the premium you pay will drop each year.
One plus is if you decide to pay your mortgage off faster then you can reflect this in the sum assured.
You wouldn’t be able to do this with a reducing term policy.
Easy, Right?
What next?
What about an interest only mortgage?
They’re not as common as they once were though there may be some still around.
If you do have an interest only mortgage then the policy choice will be different. Plus there’s a bit more to consider.
Interest only mortgages are usually run alongside a repayment vehicle.
So yours could have a link to an endowment policy.
First of all you’re going to need to check whether the life insurance on the polcy still works for you.
You’re living in another country and as we already mentioned your cover may not work anymore.
We’re not suggesting that you stop paying into the endowment or surrender it!
Though there’s no point in paying for something you’re not going to get.
Part of your premium gets invested and the rest pays for life insurance.
The older you get the cost of life cover goes up, so more of the premium goes toward this and the amount invested falls.
If they’re not going to honour a claim, what should you do?
Well, you should talk to them and find out what they’re willing to do.
What are your options…
These will vary from one insurer to another.
Of course, you still need a means of repaying the mortgage at the end of the term.
The best outcome for you is to stop paying for life insurance and have the whole premium invested.
The insurer may reduce the premium or maintain it at the current level.
In either case you’d stop paying for something your not going to get.
If they want you to keep paying for the insurance then insist that you get the cover that comes with it.
And get them to put that in writing!
If you find a suitable solution and the life cover gets taken off the policy.
Then you’ll need to make alternative arrangements.
This is where a level term policy comes in…
The amount you owe on the mortgage isn’t going to fall so that’s the cover amount you need.
The policy term should match the time remaining on your mortgage.
If anything happens to you the mortgage gets paid off in full.
This is one of the cheapest forms of insurance and you’ll be paying for cover, only for the time you need it.
This is going to save you money!
covering the family
A level term policy is also the best option for your family protection.
The timeframe for cover for will likely differ from the repayment schedule on your debt.
So separating the policies out is going to save you paying unnecessary premiums.
You know how much and how long you need the cover for…
So level term offers an ideal solution that’s affordable.
Again you’re paying for what you need for the time that you need it!
If you have a policy that allows you to drop the amount of cover that you have (as mentioned above).
You have an opportunity to save more…
(On a side note you can only set up a reducing term policy against a loan.)
If every five years you do a review of your family protection needs and the amount has fallen.
You can reduce the amount of cover on your policy in the same way described earlier.
Your premium will fall and you’ll be saving even more!
That’s good, Right?
covering those who need some extra help
Finally the type of policy that you need to meet any specialist protection needs, will differ.
We hinted at this earlier when we mentioned that you’re going to need cover for the whole of your life.
This means that we don’t have any idea when the cover should end.
Which rules out using any kind of term insurance.
In this situation a whole of life policy makes the most sense.
In fact it’s one of the only time that we can think of recommending one.
A whole of life policy has cover that runs indefinitely.
This means that the cover is always available to provide the resources to those who need it.
Which is what you’d want. Right?
We’ve covered the types of policy that fits each scenario the best. Now we’re going to look at how you set them up to work in the most effective way…
Setting the policies up properly
So, we come to our final step in the “Life Split Strategy”.
And that’s how to set up the policy in the most suitable way for the purpose it’s being used.
Getting this right is important because it means the policy pays out quickly when it’s needed.
It also means that the proceeds don’t get stuck in probate or hit with estate/inheritance taxes.
So let’s look at dealing with the first set up scenario…
set up scenario 1
When you’re setting up a policy to cover deb, how you do it will depend on the basis of your mortgage.
If it’s in joint names then so should your life insurance policy.
Do it on a joint life first death basis…
That way if anything happens to either of you the policy will pay out.
And then the surviving partner can payoff the mortgage.
There’d be no estate or inheritance taxes to pay and they’d be debt free,
No delays!
Simple, Right?
Now we’ve cleared that up it’s time to move onto scenario 2…
set up scenario 2
If a mortgage is in a sole name and also for family protection you’ll use the same method.
If the mortgage is in your name then you should be the life assured.
The same applies if you’re protecting your family against the loss of your income.
Anything happens to you the policy will pay out and make the benefits available.
Your partner or a trust should be the policy owner, it definitely shouldn’t be you.
In this scenario the life assured SHOULD NEVER BE THE POLICY OWNER!!!
Doing it this way is BAD…
We’re not going into all the reasons why right now. If you want to know them then read “How To Make Sure 100% Of Your Life Insurance Goes Straight To Your Loved Ones.”
The above post will also guide you through the process of putting a policy into trust.
Follow this rule to ensure the policy has a fast pay out, avoids probate delays and taxes.
You’re clear on that. Right?
If you are, let’s move on and look at the final scenario…
set up scenario 3
Any policy that’s for specialist protection purposes should be written into trust.
ALWAYS!!!
Writing a policy into trust may seem a bit scary, it’s certainly a bit more work.
Though it’s not as hard as you may think.
We’re not going into enormous detail on the process in this post. If we did it would make it this particular post far too long.
The good news is we’ve already written a specific post on this very subject. Follow the post link in the previous scenario to find out everything you need to know.
It will take you step by step onsetting up a trust for a life insurance policy.
There you have everything that you need…
The “Life Split Strategy” gives you a comprehensive protection plan for your family.
It will also save you tens of thousands in unnecessary premiums.
That’s because you have life insurance tailored exactly to your needs. Both in terms of cover timeframe and amount.
Life Insurance Jargon Buster!!
Save on your Life Insurance,
Don't let insurance-speak stop you!
subscribe and get our free bonus material
conclusions
So we’ve shown you that expats will fall into one of three categories when it comes to your life insurance:
- You’ve got a policy back home and you’re still paying premiums. Which means there’s a very big chance that it won’t pay benefits if your family needed to claim.
- You’ve set up a life insurance policy since you moved overseas and it covers everything. In a single policy so you end up paying for more than you need.
- Or you don’t have any life insurance at all which leaves your loved ones vulnerable.
None of these situations are ideal and in each case there are serious issues.
You don’t want your family financially exposed. Struggling to pay bills not knowing where the money will come from to get by.
Or you end up paying far more than you needed to for your life insurance. Tens of thousands in unnecessary premiums that comes with a one size fits all approach.
It doesn’t have to be like this!
You can have life insurance that is cost-effective, focused and works for you wherever you are.
Protection that’s targeted to your specific needs…
And you know what it’s easy to do when you follow the “Life Split Strategy”.
Click below and get our bonus material. A life insurance jargon buster which will put you in the driving seat. Clear the road ahead and get on your way to saving on your life insurance.
Life Insurance Jargon Buster!!
Save on your Life Insurance,
Don't let insurance-speak stop you!
subscribe and get our free bonus material
