Israel-Palestine conflict: Does your life insurance policy cover wars? Here's what you should know

The ongoing Israel-Palestine war has claimed hundreds of lives and put many including people of other countries at risk. According to reports, nearly 18,000 Indians are stuck in Israel as the war between the Palestinian group Hamas and Israel escalates. While majority of them are students and professionals, some may have been traveling for various other purposes. This comes even as the Ukraine-Russia war continues in another corner of the world.

With the geopolitical tensions in several parts of the world, travel often comes with risk. Though the chances of a war-like situation are not high, one cannot completely rule out the possibility given that these crises are often very unpredictable. On the back of this, let us find out if your life insurance covers these situations.

Life insurance policies cover deaths regardless of where they occur. This means deaths caused by a war in a country outside India are covered by policies.

However, one must note that the same will not be the case in all circumstances.

Residency status crucial factor

There are several reasons for which people travel to other countries including vacations, business trips, meetings, seminars, exhibitions, medical treatment, and meeting relatives. Those with stay permit for extended period of time are students, employees, consultants and others. Life insurance coverage validity is determined by your residency status, the nature of stay outside India, the cause of death and the type of insurance plan.

If the policyholder dies with the same residency status as stated in the policy, the insurance plan will be valid. This means the death will be covered irrespective of where it occurs in case of a short trip.

However, if your residency status has changed in the middle of a policy year, you are required to notify the insurance company so that the plan remains effective.

Indian life insurance companies sell insurance plans to resident as well as non-resident Indians (NRIs) and people of Indian origin (PIOs). The spouses, parents, and children of those who have relocated abroad in search of work also come under NRI population. The process of buying life insurance plans for residents and non-residents is identical.

Personal accidental insurance may be ineffective if the death occurs in a war zone. Some term plans list wars as an exclusion. Hence, it is advisable to carefully read the fine print of the document. Also, add-on covers may also not be valid as a war comes under exceptional circumstances.