challenges of living abroad

The importance of protecting your income while working abroad

Make Sure you Purchase Disability Insurance When You Work Overseas

Nowadays, apart from safety, what most people are concerned about when considering an offer of employment overseas are the salaries and benefits coverage. According to HSBC’s Expat Explorer survey, more than 35% of expats working in the banking and financial services sector in Hong Kong make more than HKD 1.55 million annually.

According to ECA International’s annual MyExpatriate Market Pay Survey, middle expat managers in Japan earn $375,289 per year on average. An expat professional’s income is one of the most valuable assets, but what if an unfortunate event happens and you lose that income? Disability can occur at any time. In this article, we will discuss the importance of protecting your income while working abroad.

What is Disability Insurance?

Disability insurance often called income protection, is designed to ensure the beneficiary’s income if the worker becomes disabled and is unable to earn an income. The types of disabilities include serious illness, an accident or injury, and a mental health issue. The plans will generally pay you a percentage of your income after you are disabled for a set number of days or months and pay until you reach age 65, can complete another job or are no longer disabled.

Short-Term & Long-Term Disability Insurance 

There are generally two types of disabilities insurance: short-term disability and long-term disability. Short-term disability insurance provides a percentage of income if an employee is disabled and unable to perform job duties in six months. Long-term disability insurance will pay an employee a portion of monthly income if he or she is unable to work. Payments end when an employee starts working again or dies. The benefit plans often differ significantly from one employer to another.

Hazards of Life When Living Abroad

protecting your income while working abroad

Working and living overseas comes with a set of challenges. This is not only regarding the initial culture shock, but it also involves a certain level of risks such as urban crime and political protests.

How safe it is for expats to work and live abroad depends largely on the chosen destination. People in some countries may prejudice toward nationals of certain countries for historical and political reasons. There are certain countries where it is more dangerous than others. These unexpected circumstances and events reiterate why it is so the importance of protecting your income while working abroad.

Why Disability Insurance is So Important?

Besides physical accidents and work-place related accidents, most expats don’t realize that chronic conditions can also cause disabilities. And if they become disabled and unable to work, could you pay the bills? This is why disability insurance becomes very important. The chances of disability are actually quite high before age 65. if you think about it, your most important asset is your ability to earn an income. It is strongly recommended for expats moving overseas to obtain an international health insurance plan with disability coverage.

Especially for those self-employed expat individuals and independent contractors. Many expat benefit plans include some local healthcare benefits. However, these local medical plans do not provide medical treatment outside of your destination country nor cover emergency evacuation and repatriation. Most expatriates will want a plan that provides international medical treatment. Expats will also want to obtain life insurance when working and living overseas. Remember, some say that your ability to earn an income is your most valuable asset!

 

How to Obtain Expat Disability Coverage?

Don’t forget to include the coverage of expat disability and life insurance. The peace of mind of knowing that your future income is protected while working and living overseas is very important for individual expatriates and their employers. Expat Financial, a division of TFG Global Insurance Solutions Ltd., can often source group expat life and disability plans for organizations that are employing expat employees.

A group plan will often provide superior coverage and rates. We also offer a great expat disability plan for individual expatriates. If you have questions about the individual and group expat disability plans we offer or if you would like to discuss your needs and produce a customized quote, please contact us or complete the quote form.