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What Our Plans Cover
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The full range of endowment
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Death benefit as specified by the...
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Maturity benefit in rupees
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Fund switching on unit-linked cont...
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Nomination to a resident or non-re...
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Continuity of the contract if you...
Who Can Consider This Plan?
- Entry age typically 18 to 60, varying sharply by product
- Income sufficient to sustain the premium for the full term
- Full disclosure of health, lifestyle and family medical history
- Medical examination above a threshold age or sum assured
- Indian resident or NRI, subject to the insurer's country rules
What May Not Be Covered?
- Any protection against rupee depreciation
- Repatriation beyond limits, where the premium came from an NRO account
- Availability in some countries of residence, which insurers restrict
- Suicide within the first twelve months
- Guaranteed returns on unit-linked variants
Always check the policy wording before you commit.
Why Choose Wealth & Covers?
- Expert advice to choose the right plan
- Plans from leading insurance companies
- Hassle-free process and documentation
- End-to-end support, including claim assistance
- Dedicated relationship manager
Our Insurance Partners
- Star Health Insurance
- Care Health Insurance
- Niva Bupa Health Insurance
- HDFC ERGO
- ICICI Lombard
- Bajaj Allianz
We represent multiple providers to help you find the most suitable option at the best price.
- Expert Guidance Personalised advice from experienced insurance professionals.
- End-to-End Support From choosing the right plan to claim assistance, we are with you always.
- Claims Assistance Hassle-free claim support to ensure you get what you deserve.
- Transparent Process Clear information, easy documentation and a hassle-free experience.
Overview
Non-residents can hold Indian life insurance investments — endowment, guaranteed return, unit-linked and pension contracts — with premiums paid from NRE or NRO accounts and proceeds credited back to them.
The reasons to do so are usually specific rather than general: funding a future return to India, providing for dependants here, or holding rupee assets deliberately as part of a diversified position. Repatriability is generally straightforward where the premium came from an NRE account, and more restricted where it came from an NRO account.
The consideration that dominates everything else is currency. A rupee return of eight per cent means considerably less to someone whose expenses are in dollars or dirhams if the rupee depreciates against that currency over the same period. That risk is real and it is frequently omitted from the conversation entirely.
Who should consider it
Non-residents intending to return to India, whose future expenses will be in rupees. Non-residents supporting dependants here. Those deliberately holding rupee assets as part of a diversified portfolio and comfortable with the currency exposure.
It is less suitable for a non-resident who intends to settle permanently abroad and whose liabilities are entirely in another currency. The rupee return then has to overcome depreciation before it earns anything at all.
Benefits
- Access to Indian guaranteed and market-linked products from abroad
- Premiums payable from NRE or NRO accounts
- Repatriability of proceeds where the premium came from an NRE account
- Life cover alongside the investment
- Section 80C relief where you have Indian taxable income
- Rupee assets in place for a planned return to India
What is covered, and what is not
Read the right-hand column first. It is the one that decides whether a claim is paid.
Typically covered
- The full range of endowment, guaranteed and unit-linked products
- Death benefit as specified by the contract
- Maturity benefit in rupees
- Fund switching on unit-linked contracts
- Nomination to a resident or non-resident nominee
- Continuity of the contract if you repatriate
Typically not covered
- Any protection against rupee depreciation
- Repatriation beyond limits, where the premium came from an NRO account
- Availability in some countries of residence, which insurers restrict
- Suicide within the first twelve months
- Guaranteed returns on unit-linked variants
- Tax relief where you have no Indian taxable income
Inclusions and exclusions vary between providers and between plans from the same provider. The wording in your own policy document is what governs — we will walk you through it before you buy.
How it works with us
- 1 Start with the goal, not the plan A school fee in 2038, an income from 2045, an estate to pass on. The goal decides the structure; the brand is the last decision, not the first.
- 2 We separate the protection from the saving You see what the cover costs and what the savings portion is projected to return, as two numbers rather than one blended promise.
- 3 Compared against the honest alternative Term insurance plus a mutual fund, on the same premium and the same horizon. Sometimes this plan wins; often it does not, and we say so.
- 4 Proposal, medicals and financial underwriting Medicals arranged at home. For larger premiums, insurers assess income as well as health.
- 5 Issued, with the illustration on file We keep the benefit illustration you were shown, so what was promised is on record for the whole term.
Important considerations
The things a brochure tends to leave out. Read these before you decide.
- Currency is the dominant variable. Compare the rupee return against the depreciation you would expect over the same period, or the comparison is not a comparison at all.
- Fund the premium from an NRE account if repatriation of the proceeds matters to you. NRO-funded premiums bring restrictions that are difficult to unwind later.
- Section 80C relief only helps if you have Indian taxable income. For many non-residents the tax argument for these products simply does not apply.
- Check country-of-residence acceptance before starting. A declined proposal after medicals is a wasted process.
- Where the goal is purely growth, compare against investing in your country of residence. These products are strongest where a rupee liability or a planned return makes rupee assets genuinely useful.
Documents required
- Completed proposal form with full health disclosure
- Identity proof — Aadhaar, passport or PAN
- Address proof
- PAN card, mandatory for life insurance
- Income proof — Form 16, salary slips or filed returns
- Bank statements, for larger premiums
- Medical reports, where the insurer requires them
- Recent passport-size photograph
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I repatriate the maturity proceeds?
Generally yes, and without limit, where the premium was paid from an NRE account. Where the premium came from an NRO account, repatriation is subject to the applicable annual limits and procedures. Fund the policy from the right account at the outset — it is difficult to fix afterwards.
Does the rupee return account for currency movement?
No, and this is the point most often missed. A rupee return has to overcome any depreciation against your home currency before it earns you anything in real terms. Always run the comparison in the currency your expenses are actually in.
Can I claim Section 80C on the premium?
Only against Indian taxable income. If you have none, the deduction has no value to you, and the tax argument for these products falls away entirely.
What if I return to India?
The contract continues unchanged. For someone planning to return, that continuity — and the rupee denomination — is often the strongest reason to hold these products in the first place.
Are all products available to non-residents?
Most, though insurers restrict certain products and certain countries of residence. Confirm acceptance for your specific jurisdiction before beginning medicals rather than after.
Want a shortlist instead of a catalogue?
Tell us the situation and an advisor comes back with two or three options that actually fit — and names what each one gives up.