Life insurance policies can be obtained by NRIs from several insurance companies operating in India. The range of products offered by these companies cover almost every requirement, promising security as well as returns.

          Term plans are insurance schemes which cover risks but do not carry any maturity benefits. They however enable the policy holder to avail of loans to purchase property.

          Unit Linked Insurance Plans invest funds from the insurance premium in equity and debt instruments and ensure returns to policy holders, along with the security. NRIs have a good opportunity to earn on their investments in unit linked plans. Endowment ULIPs, child plan ULIPs and retirement ULIPs are common unit linked insurance products.

          In cases where NRIs have their children studying in India, a child insurance policy either through money-back, endowment or unit linked plans can come in handy. Unit linked child plans offer good yields over a long term of 10-15 years.

          Similarly, NRIs can also plan their retirement through regular and unit linked pension plans which offer support in the retirement years.

Tax benefits:

          Through life insurance, policy holders enjoy a host of tax benefits. Apart from death claim proceeds being exempt from tax, the premiums paid on the policy confer tax rebates under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Claims:

          Claims are settled at the time of maturity into the policy holder’s NRE account proportionate to the premium received through foreign exchange. If the payment was made entirely in Indian rupees, claims are credited to the NRI’s NRO Account.

          In case of the policy holder’s demise, claims are paid to the nominee’s savings account in India which is not repatriable.

Product Range:

          The products offered by HDFC Standard Life include: Single Premium Whole of Life Plan, Personal Pension Plan, Unit Linked Pension Plan, Unit Linked Pension Plus and Saving Assurance Plan.

          LIC's comprehensive range of endowment, money-back and whole life plans are extended to NRIs but the maximum sum under the pure term insurance plans and the term rider benefits are restricted to Rs. 25 lakh.

          ABN Amro, in a tie-up with Aviva Life Insurance offers a choice between SaveGuard, an investment-cum-protection plan, and Treasure Plus

          YES Bank, in collaboration with Max New York Life Insurance, offers Whole Life Participating Policy – Protection, Life Protector Plus, Life Invest TM Unit Linked Investment Plan, and Easy Life Retirement plan (Participating) Policy.

          Citibank also has a range of rupee and non-rupee insurance products for NRIs staying in the Middle East. Non-rupee insurance products include InvestPlus Children’s Education Plan, InvestPlus Wealth Builder Plan and the InvestPlus Lifelong Whole of Life and Critical Illness Protection Plan

          Citibank’s Whole Life Plan, the Flexi Life Line, a rupee insurance plan, combines high returns with security, and comes in three customised packages, the Protector, Builder and Enhancer Plans which carry different combinations of investments in government securities and equities. The Classic Life Premier is a long term plan optimising investment with insurance.

          Standard Chartered’s life insurance portfolio also has an array of unit linked and term insurance products: SecureFirst, Unit Gain Plus, Mortgage Reducing Term Interest Plan, UnitGain pensions, ChildGain, InvestGain and TermCare. Standard Chartered offers these products in partnership with Bajaj Allianz and Royal Sundaram.

          SBI Life, the State Bank’s venture into insurance with Cardif, offers a choice of saving and protection plans for NRIs- Sudarshan, Money Back, Sanjeevan Supreme, Shield, Swadhan, Child Plan Scholar II, Lifelong Pensions and Setubandhan retirement plans.

          ICICI Prudential has a mix of protection and wealth creation plans. To meet educational needs, it offers the SmartKid range of products, while it has unit linked LifeTime and InvestShield plans for wealth generation, and the purely protection oriented plans like LifeGuard, Save’n’Protect, CashBak and Home Assure.

Procedure:

          The procedure for purchase of an insurance policy involves filling up the proposal form and the moral hazard report, undergoing a medical examination and paying the initial premium. These formalities can be completed by NRIs during their visit to India or from their country of residence through mail order. Most forms can be downloaded from the website of insurance companies.

          If the policy is being proposed from overseas, an endorsement by the local Indian embassy is required after verification of the applicant’s passport, though in the case of students, the Dean or Principal’s signature would suffice. The applicant needs to have a copy of the first page of his passport also certified by the official attesting his policy. These documents have to be submitted to the insurance firm.