SimonandSian Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 Hi all, does anyone have any advice on what to do with life insurance/assurance when emigrating to oz? We both have a policy in the uk and have asked if it is still valid when living in oz (I would presume not!) did anyone just cancel their policy in the uk and then just take one out on arrival in oz? thanks in anticipation ! S&S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 We kept ours in the UK as we'd had it a while and policy here would have been far more expensive. Contact them and ask, if they say yes its ok to keep it so long as you keep paying from a UK account (we do this), then up to you. Make sure you get it in writing from them, email or letter though to confirm it. Some possibly won't let you continue, others will. Asking is the only way you'll know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 I would explore the cost of cover once you are in Australia. Maybe also enquire now of Andrew Williams via the financial advice forum: https://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/38-financial-advice-ask-vista/ Best regards. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenfrapin Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 We found out that life insurance is only valid in the country of residence. Some agents may say its fine to pay from a UK account but I would be careful and read the fine print, if they say you must be resident then avoid because if that time ever comes, then it will be quite a hassle dealing with the company What we did here was look around a bit and then looked at the life insurance, permanent disability and income protection our individual super provided (this is like SIPP or mandatory pension contributions in UK just that you have your own with a company and take it with you as you change employers). Their charges were quite competitive so we decided to go with them. It was comparable to what we had in the UK so an easy decision to get it in place as soon as we set up our Super account Best of luck hunting! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 Yes, that's a good point - about having life insurance written under your superannuation umbrella. Speak with a financial planner in Australia, such as Andrew at Vista (referenced above). Best regards. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 17 hours ago, SimonandSian said: Hi all, does anyone have any advice on what to do with life insurance/assurance when emigrating to oz? We both have a policy in the uk and have asked if it is still valid when living in oz (I would presume not!) did anyone just cancel their policy in the uk and then just take one out on arrival in oz? thanks in anticipation ! S&S You need to ask your insurance company. Some (Aviva for example) will still be happy to cover you. If they let you keep it then keep since if you've had the policy for a while it will be cheaper than any comparable Australian Insurance that you can take out now. I'm not saying the Aussie policy would have been worse value if you'd taken it out 10 years ago - if that's how long you've had your UK policy - but that isn't an option to you now. It can be difficult to get a stand alone life insurance in Australia (the policies are much more restrictive than in the UK - rather than just adding a loading they refuse cover altogether is there's anything out of the ordinary) but the Superannuation funds all have policies which are easy to get at the point you join the Super fund (although these can be less flexibility about the amount of cover you can get and the cover normally reduces with age at the same time as the premium goes up with age). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 19, 2017 Share Posted August 19, 2017 10 hours ago, Ken said: You need to ask your insurance company. Some (Aviva for example) will still be happy to cover you. If they let you keep it then keep since if you've had the policy for a while it will be cheaper than any comparable Australian Insurance that you can take out now. I'm not saying the Aussie policy would have been worse value if you'd taken it out 10 years ago - if that's how long you've had your UK policy - but that isn't an option to you now. That's what we did. Our UK company was happy to continue the cover as we'd had the policy a while and hadn't been migrating at the time we took the policy out or anything. We got it in writing that so long as we continued to pay from a UK account they were happy to continue the policy as it was. Confirmed that twice with them, both times got the same confirmation. Taking one out here would have been more expensive and yes, more restrictive. However, my husband has also recently opted for the cover with his super or whatever it is (I forget but its tied in and he had various options for life insurance, inury etc), whereby he pays $$ each month for a payout option if anything happens to him. Its not as much as our UK policy but its decent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonandSian Posted August 20, 2017 Author Share Posted August 20, 2017 Thanks all for the input - like you've all said getting clarity and reading the fine print is the only way to go! Thanks for the info regarding the policy that can be attached the the super too - preferably we would not take out another policy as we are a few years older etc but will get clarity form our provider first Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew from Vista Financial Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 (edited) Hello I can't really add too much to the above about checking whether the UK provider will still allow it to be valid, in my experience some do and some don't so just get it in writing if they say it is. Regards cover in Australia, there are some questionable comments above but this could purely be through personal experience, this doesn't mean it is the same across the board though. All I would say is that even for what is perceived as a quite a simple area it could well pay to take financial advice (especially if looking for more than just Life Cover ie TPD, Income Protection and Critical Illness Cover). However IF you do decide to do it alone then ensure you thoroughly read through the product disclosure statement (PDS) and understand all aspects of your cover/policy. Some of the group policies inside super funds and cover through direct providers (from TV Ads etc) have clauses that could preclude pre-existing conditions or have other quirks in them that could result in a denied claim when in need. Regards Andy Edited August 21, 2017 by Andrew from Vista Financial Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RileyRicketson Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 I agree with above replies. you can ask from your insurance company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy Jane Victoria Hose Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 I recently updated my uk life insurance as we remortgaged and are renting out while in Aus. We specifically went with AIG as our policies will remain valid even while not in the uk. Not sure if we’ll take something else out too when we get to Sydney. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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