Unusual Risks launches service to secure UK protection for expat Brits

clock • 2 min read

Unusual Risks is offering a fee based service to find cover for British Expats who may be finding it difficult to obtain UK life insurance.

The adviser firm said it can arrange level term assurance for British Expats at UK insurers with competitive "guaranteed" premium rates. 

Unusual Risks is offering this service after conducting research which found that 16% of UK insurers offer life cover to British citizens living abroad. 

Only 8% are prepared to accept an application for critical illness (under  imited circumstances.)

Previously, the insurer had found that 33% of UK insurers offered life insurance to British Expats, who are now struggling to find adequate Life Insurance to meet their requirements, Unusual Risks said.

Unusual Risks surveyed the leading twelve UK life insurers between November and December 2015.

It found that only two insurance providers would consider a life insurance application and only one would consider a criticalillness  application from a UK citizen living outside of the UK.

The remaining insurance companies either would decline an application otr require the applicant to be living in the UK more than six months of the year.

Unusual Risks also discovered 3 additional insurers that offered specialist cover at four times standard premiums to those living specifically in "high risk" countries. 

The adviser firm said that Friends Life, Legal & General, Aviva and Zurich all used to be "expat friendly" insurers that brokers and IFAs used for expat clients.

The withdrawal from offering expat services has "caused a major problem" for Brits living abroad who are looking to protect their families, children and mortgages, it added. 

Unusual Risks said it had received contact from other brokers and IFA firms to secure Life Insurance for their British expat clients.

Chris Morgan lead financial adviser of Unusual Risks said: "In our experience there are many professionals who rarely offer expat protection services to their clients, as many are specialists in mortgage, pension and investment planning.

"For them to conduct specific research on protection for British expatriates would be time consuming and extremely inefficient with their time."

"They prefer to contact us and ask us to source a quality expat life insurance product for their client.

"Many IFAs and brokers contact us after receiving poor quotations from global insurance providers and international life insurance providers, who all offer expensive annual renewable and reviewable premiums products".

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