However, if you’re an expatriate, (i.e. you live and work outside your home country) your stay abroad is most likely going to extend beyond a few years. Hence, you might need a more detailed, life-long insurance plan which you’ll have to renew annually. Such a plan covers you indefinitely as long as it’s active.
Cost of Repatriation Cover
The terms and cost of your repatriation cover will vary based on your country and insurance provider. Nonetheless, like many other insurance types, repatriation premiums are calculated based on the applicant’s age and current health status. Your provider may also factor in a baseline cost and “bake” it into your policy coverage.
You may buy a repatriation cover plan in your home country before leaving for a foreign country. This is generally ideal for short-term travel and stays abroad, and way cheaper than buying insurance in the west. International students, for instance, are better of buying insurance at home.
On the other hand, an expat who’s going to spend years living abroad may find it more convenient to purchase the repatriation cover plan in their new country of residence. If, for example, you live and work in the US, buy your insurance in the US.
Irrespective of where or from whom you buy insurance, it’s of utmost importance that you notify your family and provide them with all the documents needed for them to make a successful claim from your cover provider.
Be Sure to Read the Fine Print
As you shop for repatriation insurance, you ought to remember that insurance is a business. That being the case, your insurer would prefer not to fork out thousands of dollars to repatriate your remains.
Insurers have been known to use misleading wording that’s open to interpretation which gives them some wiggle-room to turn down a repatriation claim. Therefore, be keen to read all the terms and guarantees offered in your plan.
In other words, don’t sign an insurance contract if you don’t understand it, aren’t comfortable with the terms and level of cover provided, or if its wording is poor.
Conclusion
The cost of paying for repatriation cover is ultimately smaller and more manageable compared to your family being burdened with the immensely high cost of coordinating the transportation of your body back to your home country.
It’s also worth mentioning that a repatriation policy is different from a pre-paid funeral plan. Most repatriation policies will almost never cover funeral or cremation expenses but a pre-paid funeral plan will.
Matthew Macharia
Afrikagora Magazine
