What Happens To Your Cover If You Move Abroad
This is a page about asking a question rather than about an answer, because the honest answer is that it depends and anybody who tells you otherwise is guessing.
Insurers take different positions on policyholders who move overseas. Some policies continue largely as before, some continue with conditions, and some are restricted by where you are living. The terms of your particular policy and the insurer's own rules decide it.
What is consistent is that finding out beforehand is easy and finding out at the point of a claim is not.
The short answer
Whether a UK life policy continues if you move abroad depends on the insurer and often on the country, so there is no single answer and it should be checked before you go rather than after. Income protection is generally the more restricted of the two, because paying a claim relies on medical evidence and on assessing whether you can work, both of which are harder at a distance.
What this changes
- Your policy terms may treat residence outside the UK differently, and this varies by insurer
- Income protection is generally more restricted than life cover, because claims need assessing
- Any cover provided through a UK employer ends when that employment does
- Premiums are usually still payable from a UK account, which needs arranging before you go
- Your tax position changes, which can affect how the policy fits your estate
- Arranging new cover as a non-UK resident is generally harder than keeping what you already have
The bit people miss
The expensive version of this is cancelling before you leave and intending to sort something out at the other end. Cover you already hold was underwritten on your health at the time and those terms are locked in, whereas a new application abroad means a new insurer, a new assessment and often a narrower market. People also assume a policy quietly lapses when they move and stop paying it, which can leave a family with nothing. The right move is to contact the insurer, find out exactly where you stand in writing, and decide from there.
Ask Before You Go, And Get It In Writing
The practical advice here is almost boringly simple and it is the whole point of the page.
Contact the insurer, or contact us if we arranged the cover, and tell them where you are going and for how long. Ask specifically whether the policy continues, whether any part of it is affected, and whether a claim could be made and paid while you are living there. Then keep the answer.
This costs nothing and takes one conversation. The alternative is discovering the position when somebody is trying to claim, which is the worst possible moment to find out that a policy had a residence condition nobody had read.
Do Not Cancel On The Assumption You Will Replace It
There is a strong argument for keeping existing cover in force wherever possible, even if it seems inconvenient from abroad.
The policy you hold was underwritten on your health and age when you applied. That assessment does not reopen because you have moved. Cancelling it means that if you later want cover, you apply again as an older person with whatever has happened to your health since, to whichever insurers will consider somebody living where you now live. Acceptance, price and exclusions are the insurer's decision in every case.
If a temporary move is planned, that is worth saying explicitly when you ask, because a two year posting and a permanent emigration are not the same question. We would rather look at your actual policy and tell you what it says than offer a general rule that may not apply to it.
What usually fits, and why
Generally the most portable of the three, because a claim turns on a certified fact rather than on an assessment. Whether your particular policy continues still depends on the insurer and the country.
The most likely to be restricted, because paying a claim means assessing medical evidence and whether you can work, which is harder outside the UK. Worth checking specifically rather than assuming it travels.
Sits between the two. A claim depends on a diagnosis meeting the policy definition, so where and how that diagnosis is made can matter. Another one to confirm rather than assume.
Common questions
Does my UK life insurance still work if I move abroad?+
It depends on the insurer and often on the country, so there is no single answer. Some policies continue much as before, some continue with conditions and some are restricted. The terms of your policy decide it, which is why it is worth asking the insurer directly and keeping the answer in writing before you go.
What about income protection?+
This is generally the most restricted, because paying a claim means assessing medical evidence and whether you are able to work, and that is harder to do outside the UK. Do not assume it travels with you. Ask specifically whether a claim could be made and paid while you are living in that country.
Should I cancel my policy before I leave?+
Usually not without finding out your position first. Existing cover was underwritten on your health when you took it out and those terms stay fixed. Replacing it later means a fresh application at an older age, with your health as it is then, to insurers willing to consider where you live. That is a much weaker position.
Can I take out new UK cover while living overseas?+
It is generally harder, and which insurers will consider it depends on where you are and on your circumstances. That is a reason to sort cover out before you leave rather than after, while you are still a UK resident with the full market available.
I am only going for a couple of years. Is that different?+
It can be, and it is worth saying so when you ask, because a temporary posting and a permanent move are not the same question. Some policies handle short absences straightforwardly. The only way to know about yours is to ask about yours.
Do I need to tell the insurer?+
Yes, tell them. Policies commonly include an obligation to notify changes in circumstances, and residence can be one of them. Beyond the obligation, it is in your own interest: an insurer who knows where you live can tell you whether you are covered, which is the thing you actually want to know.
Cover that often goes with this
The gaps we most often find sitting next to this one.