What is NRI Insurance?

NRI is a citizen of India who holds a valid passport issued by Govt. of India and is temporarily residing outside India for the purposes of employment or business or otherwise. Any person holding ‘Person of Indian Origin’ (PIO) Card/ ‘Overseas Citizens of India’ (OCI) Card shall be considered at par with NRI.

Income Tax Act has not directly defined NRI. However, Section 6 contains detailed criteria of who is considered as Resident in India and further provides that anyone who doesn’t meet these criteria is Non-Resident.

The status of a person as a resident or non-resident depends on his period of stay in India. The period of stay is counted in number of days for each financial year beginning from 1st April to 31st March (known as previous year under the Income-tax Act 1961)

An individual will be treated as a Resident in India in any previous year if he/she is in India for at least 182 days in that year, OR at least 365 days during 4 years preceding that year AND at least 60 days in that year.

Yes. NRI including PIO and OCI can invest in an insurance policy in India to meet their life goals, subject to applicable Underwriting Guidelines of the Company and other applicable laws.

Tax benefits can be availed by the NRIs under section 80C and 80D of the Income Tax Act 1961 (the Act). Further, on claim proceed, tax benefit* can be availed under section 10(10D) of the Act. 

*Tax benefits as per prevailing Income tax laws shall apply. (*Please check with your tax consultant for eligibility.)

No. policyholder does not need to maintain an account with an Indian bank to pay premiums for policies.

Yes, premium payment in foreign currency can be paid via SWIFT.

Premium can be paid through the following modes:

• Credit Card – Domestic & International
• Net Banking
• Debit Card
• Wallets (Paytm)
• Unified Payment Interface UPI (Amazon Pay, Google Pay, Phone Pe, Paytm, BHIM)
• Cheque/ DD (Offline payment modes)
• SWIFT/NEFT/RTGS

Premium payment via Indian account(NRE) & foreign account(SWIFT) is eligible for GST waiver upon submission of required documents.

Yes, NRI can purchase MFinServ insurance policy through the online platform by adhering to the below given checklist:

• The proposal form must be filled in completely online.
• Scanned copy of the passport needs to be uploaded as your age and identification proof.
• Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements should be complied with which includes the following:
  
  • A recent photograph
  • Proof of residence in India and Overseas Address Proof
  • Income Proof as per list attached in online application (If applicable)
  • OCI or PIO Card, in case of a permanent overseas citizen

Medical examination must be conducted by a medical practitioner provided the following conditions are met:

• Medical examination is to be conducted at Company’s designated Lab or Doctor empanelled by the Company
• In case, medicals through non-designated lab or non-empanelled Doctor or to be conducted at abroad, prior approval from Appropriate Authority from MFinServ Underwriting team is mandatory.
• Medical Examination form should be signed by the MBBS doctor, along with seal and stamp.
• Medical examiner must verify the passport and the identity of the person to be insured. The copy of the passport used for identification needs to be sent along with the medical reports by the medical examiner.
• The insured needs to sign the medical report in the presence of medical examiner.
• The fees for medical reports will be in accordance with the pre-defined rates. The amount may be reimbursed to the insured as per the Company norms.

The policy document will be sent to the mailing address (including foreign address) mentioned in the proposal form. Along with it, the soft copy of the insurance policy document will also be sent to the registered email ID.

For any information related to the insurance policy, the policyholder can get in touch with us through the following modes:

• Visit our Customer Portal (Life Assist)
• Visit our Website
• Connect with our WhatsApp services. Just say Hi to +91-8130707376 to get started

All communications in respect of the insurance policy or any other communication shall be to the registered email ID and/ or Indian address mentioned in the proposal form. Additionally, alerts through messages are sent at regular intervals on your registered Indian mobile number.

The insurance policy will lapse on non-payment of renewal premiums after the expiry of grace period. In this case, all benefits under the policy are lost. The grace period for monthly premium mode policies is 15 days and for all other modes, the grace period is 30 days. 

Yes, the policy can be reinstated by submitting a request with the required documentation (DGH, Medicals, if any) and paying all the due premiums (till the reinstatement date). Please refer to the product specific T&C for exact guidelines on reinstatement.

Claimant can visit any of our Branch Office or Head Office to intimate claim. Claimant can also intimate the claim through email, post or courier or through authorised representative.

Following documents are to be submitted along with claim intimation:

• Death Certificate issued by the Government
• Claimant Statement/Intimation Letter
• Photocopy of ID proof and address proof for claimant (with self-attestation)
• Original policy bond
• Copy of Bank passbook/NEFT mandate/Cancelled cheque of claimant
• Medical Certificate issued by hospital (if available)
• Post Mortem report and FIR (in case of accident)

Claim will be settled upon receipt of all mandatory documents. In case, we need any further documents to process the claim, claimant shall be contacted at the communication address / contact no. mentioned on intimation letter.

• Claims will be settled in Indian currency only.
• If the claimant is NRI or PIO or OCI, subject to applicable RBI regulations and other acts,
  • Claim can be settled by direct credit to NRE / NRO / Foreign Bank account of the claimant.
  • Claim settled by crediting foreign bank account will be in proportion to the amount of premium paid in foreign currency, in relation to the total premium payable. Balance claim amount, if any, will be settled by crediting NRE / NRO account of the claimant, as applicable.
  • If premiums have been paid in non-repatriable rupees, then claim will be settled by crediting to NRO account only.
• In case the claimant is an Indian Resident, then claim will be settled through direct credit to claimant’s Indian bank account only.

There’s no limit in number of life insurance policies bought by NRIs subject to applicable Underwriting guidelines.

NRIs need not be physically present in India to buy a life insurance policy as Life Insurance offerings are available through various digital platforms. This allows them to compare and know features of different policies, use chatbots for query resolutions and clarifications.

In case you feel that the policy bought by you does not match your life goals, you can return it during the free-look period which is 15 days from the date of receipt of the policy document for offline policies and period of 30 days in case of electronic policies and policies obtained through distance mode.