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Purchase income protection insurance with William Russell, and join thousands of expats enjoying excellent customer service. In fact, 95% of our members renew every year. That’s pretty good for an insurance provider! We think you’ll love it too, and—if you don’t—we’ll give you your money back under our 30-day money back guarantee.
International income protection is an insurance policy that pays you a replacement income if you’re unable to work due to illness or injury. We’ve designed this policy especially for expats and digital nomads who are living and working in a foreign country.
Income protection is also known as disability insurance. It’s not intended to supplement any income you lose through maternity or paternity leave, redundancy, or losing your job. It only pays you a replacement income if injury or illness prevents you from working and earning an income.
International income protection insurance with William Russell gives you peace of mind that you and your family will have financial support if an illness or injury prevents you from working while you’re living abroad.
Unlike similar policies from domestic insurers, our policies give you worldwide cover. You’re covered while you’re living and working abroad, when you travel, and on trips home.
The income protection policy pays you a replacement income if you’re unable to work because of illness or injury for longer than 3 months.
The cost of goods and services rises year-on-year. We increase your replacement income payments by 2% compound year on-year, so you don’t lose money in real terms.
If you’re ready to return to work in a limited capacity, we’ll pay you a proportion of your benefit to help offset any temporary reduction in your salary while you’re completing your recovery.
The income protection policy is annually renewable and you can renew until you reach age 65. Once you’re covered, there are no further medical tests or exams—even if your health deteriorates.
How much you pay depends on your age, the amount of cover you need, and in some cases, your health.
It’s worth considering how much money you would need to support you and your family if you were no longer able to work. A replacement income can help protect your current lifestyle and make sure you keep up with mortgage payments and other bills, allowing you to fully focus on your recovery. Reasons why people choose to purchase income protection insurance when living and working abroad include:
If your family depends on your income, protecting your earnings means you’ll be able to make ends meet should you be unable to work due to illness or injury.
As an expat you’re likely to have monthly expenses that you will need to continue to cover while out of work, such as rent, private school fees and healthcare costs.
Losing your income could seriously disrupt your family’s standard of living and impact your family’s long-term financial health.
How much you pay for an income protection insurance policy depends on a number of factors. The most important factors are your health, age, occupation, and your general lifestyle. We’ve put together a few pricing examples in the table below:
30 year old from the USA
40 year old from the UK
50 year old from France
With income protection cover, you’re in charge. You can decide the amount of cover that’s right for you, up to 80% of your annual salary up to a maximum of US$144,000. This is the replacement income we’ll pay you if you’re unable to work because of an illness or injury.
Payment of your replacement income starts after your deferment period. You can choose a deferment period of 3 months or 6 months. Premiums are higher if you choose a 3-month deferment period, as payment of your replacement income will start sooner.
Simply complete the digital application form, which includes a brief declaration of your occupation and medical history. We’ll let you know if we need more information.
If you’re under age 50, fit & healthy, and you’re applying to insure your income for US$75,000 or less, we can usually issue your policy within 48 hours. If we need you to undergo a medical examination, this can be at a clinic near you, and we’ll reimburse the cost once we issue your policy.
Learn more about international income protection insurance.
We want to provide you with an insurance policy you can rely on, so it is important that you fully understand the scope of the cover we provide. You can find answers to the most common questions about international income protection insurance below, but feel free to get in touch and speak to a member of our award-winning team. We’d be glad to help.
When you are applying for cover think about:
You can insure up to 80% of your annual earnings, but if you make a claim, the amount we would pay you would be the lower of:
So the amount you can claim will be reduced if any other income plus the income you have insured, are more than 80% of your pre-disability earnings.
If you are self-employed and your earnings fluctuate, we will use your average earnings over the three-year period before your last day at work.
In most cases, we can only provide insurance to expats. By expat, we mean people living and working outside of their country of nationality (e.g., a Dutch national living in Taiwan or a Canadian national living in India).
We can provide insurance policies to people of all nationalities in most countries around the world. You must be living or working in a country different from your country of nationality.
Typically, our members reside permanently in a foreign country. But we can sometimes provide cover to people expecting to spend at least 6 months of the year living or traveling abroad. In certain countries, we can cover people living in the same country that issues their passport. These countries are Botswana, Kenya, Nigeria, Mauritius, Estonia, and Malawi.
You can pay annually, half-yearly, quarterly or monthly. Paying your premium annually is the cheapest option.
As long as you’re under age 60, in good health and your occupation is non-hazardous, you can apply for cover.
As soon as you know you are likely to be off work for longer than your deferment period, contact us for an income protection claim form.
We will then contact the doctor who is treating you to get the information we’ll need.
Once your claim has been assessed and agreed, and your chosen deferment period ends, your income payments will start. No income will be paid during or for the deferment period.
If, after becoming eligible for income from your policy you return to work then suffer a relapse within six months, your payments will re-start immediately. You won’t have to go through another deferment period.
A deferment period is the length of time until we start paying your replacement income.
You can choose a deferment period of either 3 months or 6 months. Premiums are higher if you choose a 3 month deferment period, as payment of your replacement income will start sooner.
You can renew your policy each year until you reach age 65. If you need to make a claim, your replacement income will continue to be paid until you recover, right up to age 65 if necessary.
No. There is no refund if you don’t make a claim on your policy. If you wish to cancel your policy before your renewal date and you have not made a claim, we’ll refund you the unused portion of your premium.
With our insurance policies, there’s often no need for a medical exam or reports.
If you are under 50, fit and healthy, and applying for cover of less than US$75,000 we may be able to offer you cover straightaway. Otherwise, we’ll let you know if we have any medical requirements. If we do, you can go to a nearby clinic to get your exam done, and we will reimburse you once your policy starts.
No. Once your claim has been approved, you do not have to stay in your country of residence. You can return to your home country and we will continue to pay the benefit for as long as you are unable to work, due to the illness or injury that required the claim in the first place.
Yes! Applying for expat income protection insurance, whether for yourself or on behalf of your global workforce, is easy. You and your employees are eligible for a group policy if:
Groups can have cover up to US$200,000 if their salary allows.
Medical examinations are not required for group employees for international income protection cover.
We will only ask for medical information on declared conditions, but we deal with group cover on a case by case basis. If you’d like to know more about group insurance cover, get in touch with our award-winning customer service team to find out more.
William Russell was one of the first insurance providers to cover people living abroad, and we’ve earned a reputation for outstanding customer experience.
When you purchase a policy from William Russell, you can be sure there’ll always be money to pay your claims. The insurer behind our income protection insurance is a company in the Allianz group, one of the largest financial services companies in the world.
We have independently verified reviews from over 1,000 of our members, and we win prestigious awards for our outstanding customer service. When you purchase a policy, you’ll be assigned your own dedicated policy manager as your main point of contact at William Russell.
Unlike similar policies from domestic insurers, our international income protection insurance gives you worldwide cover. You’re covered while you’re living and working abroad, when you travel, and on trips you make home.
William Russell have always been very sympathetic and extremely helpful. I never had any issues with William Russell – Reimbursements/Letters of Guarantee were always prompt. It was an excellent service – no issues, no questions and no delays.
I felt really, really supported, being able to write an email and knowing the person I sent it to was the one who would read and reply to it. I feel appreciated for being a member for so many years. And now that I’ve retired, I’ve even been given a discount on my health insurance package, which I’m grateful for.
What comes across strongest is the humanitarian aspect of William Russell…. always looking for the best treatment options for its members and not being too concerned with the cost issues. Had I not been air evacuated to the Nairobi Hospital when I was, I very likely would not have been around today. Thank you William Russell.
I liked that I could speak to a human being at the end of the phone. I just prefer dealing with someone directly. For me, in particular, it was very important to deal with someone regulated by a regulator as recognised and reputable as the FCA (the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK).
What makes William Russell stand out from other providers is their great service, international coverage, and the ability to pick the plan that fit our lifestyle. When we first signed up we were dating and traveling the world, then married and pregnant, and now have two beautiful boys and we have been able to pick plans that best suit our needs.
If you’re not happy with your income protection insurance policy or the service we provide, and you haven’t yet made a claim, then we’ll refund the premium you’ve paid—no questions asked.
We put our members at the heart of everything we do. We’re proud of our award-winning customer service and our members rate it highly.
The insurer behind our policies is an insurance company in the Allianz group – one of the world’s largest financial services groups.
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