Introduction to International Life Insurance

International Life Insurance is a tool that helps you protect the people you care about financially, and define your legacy. It’s an important conversation for anyone to have in life.

What is International Life Insurance? 

International Life insurance is an agreement where an insurance company agrees to pay a specific amount upon the death of an insured party. The amount paid is also known as the death benefit. 

Who needs International life insurance?  

International Life insurance is a helpful financial tool to have. Below are some examples of why people may take out life insurance: 

• Parents – Raising children can be very expensive, it is estimated that a middle-income family will spend more than $250,000 raising a child to adulthood. If you were to die tomorrow, would your spouse or partner be able to financially provide your children with the opportunities you had planned for them? Would there be enough income to pay the school, or university fees as well as all the living expenses? Single parents would also need to consider life insurance more than anyone else as their children are so critically dependent on them. 
• Couples – Many couples rely on both incomes to maintain their standard of living. If you died suddenly, would your partner have enough money to cover your debts, funeral costs and cover their daily living expenses? 
• Home owners – For most people, their home is their most valuable asset, but their mortgage is also their biggest liability. Having life insurance up to the value of your mortgage means your family has the security of a fully paid home should the worst happen. 
• Estate taxes – Is there inheritance tax or death duty due on your estate if anything were to happen to you? Life insurance is often a cost-effective solution to help your family pay these taxes, whilst also meaning they can avoid lengthy probate discussions. It is important that this insurance is held in the correct structure to pay outside of your estate so it doesn’t simply increase your liability. 
• Individuals – Whilst most single people don't have financial dependents, if you’re supporting parents or siblings or carrying significant amounts of debt that you wouldn’t want to be passed on to family members, then life insurance is a powerful tool. 

 How much life cover do you need? 

The most important part of purchasing international life insurance is determining how much cover you need. This is bespoke to every person, as everyone has different goals, financial and personal circumstances. This is where there is value in sitting down with an adviser, mapping out what your immediate, ongoing and future cash needs are then consider what resources are currently in place then making a conclusion of how much is needed to cover the gap. 

‍

If you are an expat here in Malaysia, we work with a wide range of global insurance companies to tailor-make the most fitting policies for you and your family.

Feel free to give me a call on +6017 3760 096 or email me at lukewhite@melbournecapitalgroup.com if you would like to discuss any of the above points or would like me to review any current life insurance policies you have in place.

‍