What is the difference between life insurance and life assurance?

The terms life insurance and life assurance are widely used interchangeably, but they refer to two structurally different types of product. Understanding the distinction can help clarify what type of cover is right for your circumstances.

Life insurance, more precisely called term life insurance or term assurance, provides cover for a fixed period of time. If you die during that term, the sum assured is paid to your beneficiaries. If you outlive the term, the cover ends and no payment is made.

As there is a real possibility that no claim will ever arise, term life insurance tends to be more affordable than products that guarantee a payout and it is a pure protection product with no investment component and no cash value. Expatriate Group’s international life cover products are term assurance policies, available for terms of one to 30 years.

Life assurance covers you for your entire lifetime rather than a defined period, so a payout under a life assurance policy is certain. This certainty is reflected in higher premiums, and some whole-of-life products include a savings or investment element that builds a cash value over time.

For most expats, term assurance is the practical choice. It can be matched to a specific financial commitment, such as a mortgage term, the years your children depend on you financially, or your working life overseas and it provides clear, affordable protection for that defined period.

Whole-of-life assurance may suit those who want guaranteed lifelong cover or wish to leave a financial legacy regardless of when they die, but it is a different type of financial product with different cost and structural considerations.

Expatriate Group international life cover is structured as term assurance, designed to give expats and internationally mobile people straightforward, globally applicable protection for as long as they need it.