Policybazaar Offers US Dollar Plans to Overseas Indians

Int’l Desk: Policybazaar has begun offering US dollar-denominated term insurance plans to non-resident Indians through GIFT City, allowing customers to pay premiums and receive claim payouts in dollars. The plans, provided via the company’s partner insurers, are available through India’s International Financial Services Centre.

The products target NRIs who earn in foreign currencies and face overseas financial obligations yet often hold life cover denominated only in Indian rupees.

Policybazaar said the arrangement is meant to limit the effect of currency depreciation on the real value of the insurance. Over the past three decades the rupee has lost roughly 3 percent a year against the dollar, according to the firm.

A policy of Rs 2 crore that was worth about $550,000 in 1996, when the exchange rate stood near Rs 35 to the dollar, is now worth closer to $200,000 at current rates. For families relying on the cover to meet home loans, education costs or other expenses abroad, that decline can leave a meaningful shortfall.

Under the new plans both premiums and benefits are set in US dollars, so beneficiaries receiving a payout overseas avoid converting a rupee sum at whatever rate happens to apply at the time.

The purchase process is digital-first, enabling eligible customers to complete onboarding and medical underwriting remotely.

Vivek Jain, chief business officer for life insurance at Policybazaar, noted that GIFT City is making it possible to design financial products specifically for Indians living overseas and that the company aims to make those products simpler for NRIs to obtain.