Owning a life insurance policy is a fantastic way to safeguard the financial future of your loved ones. There are lots of life insurance products to choose from, so finding one that suits you is not difficult at all. Some insurance companies will even go as far as allowing customers to fine-tune their coverage and craft their perfect life insurance policy.
There are a lot of factors to consider when choosing life insurance. On the other hand, insurance companies will also review a lot of things about you before issuing an insurance policy. One of the aspects that will affect your life insurance is foreign travel. Can you still travel and keep your life insurance coverage? In what ways does foreign travel affect your life insurance? Let’s find out.
Life Insurance and Traveling
Whether you already have a life insurance policy, or you are thinking about getting one before you take a vacation abroad, you’ll need to get in touch with your provider prior to the trip. Of course, there are many reasons to buy into a life insurance policy, but even if you have no underlying health conditions, or are not planning on participating in any dangerous activities on your vacation, communicating your travel plans is key to prevent the policy from becoming invalid. If you take a lot of foreign vacations, this is also important to discuss with your policy provider.
Country Ratings
Insurance companies have certain terms when it comes to traveling. For starters, they rate destination countries in three major ways: acceptable, acceptable over a certain period of time, and unacceptable.
Going to an acceptable country means you can travel to the destination country for as long as you want and still keep your life insurance policy in force. Countries in Europe and several Asian destinations like Singapore are usually classified in this category.
Acceptable for a certain period of time means you can still visit the destination country, but your length of stay is limited to a certain period. In most cases, you cannot stay in the destination country for more than 3 to 6 months. Exceeding the limit will trigger a review of your life insurance policy.
The unacceptable category is filled with destination countries that the insurance company deems as high risk. You are not allowed to visit these countries if you want to keep your life insurance policy valid. Alternatively, you may be asked to pay a premium if you still have to travel.
Travel Length and Other Details
The length of your trips matters too. Most insurance companies consider residency as a key point, which is why those who spend more than 3 months out of a year traveling to foreign countries are treated differently when applying for an insurance policy.
As long as you don’t spend a total of more than 3 months abroad, you can usually keep your life insurance policy without going through any additional processes. If you do travel more, however, you need to consult the insurance underwriter regarding your status.
One important thing to note is that this practice is limited in some states such as Florida and Georgia. In other states, even previous travel history cannot be taken into account when processing life insurance applications. States like New York and Washington are very strict about this.
Nevertheless, it is always best to consult the insurance company you are working with to get a better understanding of their travel rules. Whether traveling domestically or abroad, having a life insurance policy in force is a fantastic way to keep your loved ones protected. Besides, getting quotes and finding a suitable life insurance policy is a lot easier than you think.
