Can a foreign resident obtain life insurance coverage? This question has raised concern to many non-residents. The answer is yes, you can own life insurance coverage, provided you have obtained a green card. But, as usual, there’s more to the story than just that.
Over the past several years, life insurance has become an essential commodity for both citizens and foreign residents alike due to the invaluable benefits of having coverage. For a green card holder that comes into the country either to live and work, your financial protection is as crucial as it is for U.S. citizens.
With life insurance, you can add a level of protection to your life plan. Adequate protection through life insurance ensures that your family is not financially stranded if the unexpected happens and you’re no longer available to provide for them. In other words, life insurance is a financial protection program that provides your family with a tax-free cash payment if you pass on while the policy is active.
Like a life jacket, life insurance can be a useful tool that keeps your family or business afloat from the likelihood of financial shipwreck after the death of the primary income earner.
Life is unpredictable and can often put your family’s financial health at risk if the unexpected should happen. Your surviving family may have to struggle to make ends meet after your passing. Life insurance coverage is a plan you can put in place so they can have something to fall back on. After your passing, death benefits will be transferred to a beneficiary who is chosen by you. The cash reimbursement will take care of their financial needs such as covering for funeral expenses, offsetting mortgage and debts, paying their bills, and ensuring that they maintain a normal lifestyle.
You can also experience peace of mind knowing that you’ve secured the financial future of your loved ones should you pass.
As a green card holder, you have full liberty to obtain Living Benefits life insurance policy provided you meet up with certain requirements. Among the requirements your insurance provider will look out for is to determine if you’ve been in the United States for at least six months or longer. The longer you’ve been in the U.S., the easier it is to get life insurance.
When applying for coverage, you’ll also be required to provide a copy of your green card and complete a foreign resident questionnaire form. You may be asked to fill out your health status, travel experience, employment status, and other basic questions.
In most cases, your insurer might request that you provide a social security number. Depending on your location, you may also need to fill out a form to confirm your state of residence.
Other necessary papers to provide might include your certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding and Reporting (W8BEN) or your Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN).
It is crucial that you take your time to understand how a policy works before opting for it. You can use some of our suggestions below as pointers.
Just acknowledging that life insurance is an excellent choice for financial fitness is not enough. Before starting, do some research to understand every component that makes up a policy and all that goes into owning a policy as a green card holder.
A policy is only as good as its underwriting. Each policy has its own unique terms and conditions. Be sure to read and understand every piece of the underwriting before you sign. You may need to ask your insurance provider questions concerning any unfamiliar terms in the underwriting.
Doing some research and shopping around is usually a good idea for large purchases. There’s no wrong in drawing comparisons between more than one policy provider to avoid future regrets. Some of the things to look out for in a company include financial capability, a policy that meets your needs, and what others are saying about the company. A. M. Best is a reliable place to check for company ratings.
Knowing the right amount of coverage you need will help in deciding on what particular needs you intend to accomplish with your policy. Paying more in premiums will grant you greater benefits, more flexibility, or both, so you will need to evaluate how life insurance will impact your immediate and future finances.
Consulting with a financial expert will help you in making the right decision. An experienced financial consultant can help factor out which policy best meets your needs.
You’re not limited to buying just one policy. Buying smaller overlapping life insurance policies can help reduce costs instead of buying one large policy. Multiple policies will also help address varying needs as they arise.
You can work with an agent to find a life insurance policy and can get a personalized, free, and no-obligation life insurance quote in just a few minutes. It’s that easy to start protecting your family’s financial future! Requesting a life insurance quote through AIG Direct is now faster and easier than ever!
With My Term Life Guy, you can get quality term life insurance coverage for less. Call now and save up to 60% on your term life policy compared to the same coverage through other carriers. That means you can get similar coverage for your money – and that’s always a good thing!
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Typically, an individual can get up to 20 times her or his annual income in coverage.
The total coverage amount a person will qualify for often decreases with age, as retirement draws nearer.
For those who are not currently employed, it is still possible to get $50,000 – $100,000 of coverage for items such as final expenses. Unemployed individuals will have to provide information on the application to prove they can afford the premiums, such as disability or retirement income information.
It is possible to get more than 20 times your income for coverage if you have additional assets to protect over and above your income. It is also possible for a homemaker to qualify for the same amount of coverage their spouse has, even without a separate income.
This depends on what kind of policy you apply for.
Typically a No Medical Exam policy can be applied for, approved, and put in force within approximately two business days. No Medical Exam policies are available to clients up to age 60 or so, depending on the insurance company. The coverage amount you can apply for is limited, due to the greater risk the insurance company is taking. (When there’s no physical exam involved, the insurance company has less health information about the applicant.) For healthy applicants, these policies can cost up to twice the rate of a medically underwritten policy. However, there are people who don’t like needles, and the No Medical Exam option is a great one for that reason!
A medically underwritten, or traditional, term policy will typically take about 3 weeks from start to finish. This process can take longer when applicants have health issues and the underwriter orders medical records from their doctor. If this occurs, we let our clients know that they can call and ask their doctor to expedite the submission of the medical records to the underwriter in an effort to speed up the application process.
Most carriers have the same rules when it comes to paying premiums on life insurance policies. The only way to make monthly payments these days is to authorize a monthly automatic draft from your checking or savings account. If you prefer not to make automatic payments, there are some other options. You can receive a bill by mail if you elect to pay quarterly, semi-annually, or annually. Most people choose to make automatic payments for their life insurance for the same reason they do for other bills, such as car insurance: they don’t want their policy to be canceled because of non-payment.
You do not have to send a payment with your application, unless you want to be covered during the underwriting process (which typically takes about 3 weeks). Most people choose to wait until their application has been approved to make a payment and begin coverage. Once an approval is made, you can make changes to the policy to fit your budget if the rate that comes back is different from the one you applied for. Also, most people want to know the exact cost before making a payment to begin coverage. You do not have to provide billing information on the application, either. That information can be collected after an approval has been made and you’ve decided that you want to begin the coverage afforded by the policy.
If you want to secure temporary insurance and be covered during the underwriting period, simply include a payment for two months’ premium. It’s refundable if you decide not to take out a policy based on the final approved rate.
It depends on the pre-existing condition. For example, it’s difficult to obtain life insurance when you’ve had cancer (skin cancer is the one exception) or within 5 years after having a heart attack. On the other hand, it’s fairly easy for people who have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and/or high blood sugar, such as those with type 2 diabetes, to obtain coverage as long as they are under a doctor’s care and the condition is under control.
There are graded benefit and/or final expense policies available for people with greater health risks. The corresponding premiums will be higher, depending on the severity of the pre-existing condition. It’s often beneficial for an applicant with pre-existing conditions to discuss them with an agent before applying for coverage, to increase the chances of a more favorable approval.
hat depends on your needs. A person’s needs change over time. Most term life insurance policies have a premium that increases each year after the initial guaranteed level term period. If you are nearing the end of your initial term period and want to lock in a rate that won’t change for another predetermined number of years, it might benefit you to apply for a new policy and replace, or surrender, the old one.