Life Insurance For Green Card Holders

As a green card holder, it’s natural to have questions about what you can and can’t do regarding your finances in the United States. 

For example, you may have concerns about your ability to buy life insurance. While it may require some additional documentation, all green card holders are permitted to buy life insurance. 

Note: if a broker or agency tells you that you don’t qualify for life insurance because of your status, move onto another option. Being a green card holder should not hold you back from obtaining the coverage you need to protect your family and obtain peace of mind.

Additional Underwriting Considerations

At this point, you understand that you qualify to purchase life insurance as a green cardholder. However, there is something to keep in mind as the process begins: any non-US citizen requires additional underwriting considerations, which could delay the process (but not long).

With most life insurance companies, a green card holder is required to provide a copy of a valid VISA along with their application. So, if you get this in order before you begin your search for a policy, you won’t run into too many delays.

Other Things You Need to Know

While the terms and conditions vary from company to company, the following points of emphasis should be kept in mind when buying life insurance as a green card holder:

  • You will be insured at the best available class with no country restrictions
  • All applications, inspection reports, and medical requirements must be completed in the United States 
  • You must provide a copy of your valid green card along with the application 
  • If you travel outside of the United States for eight or more weeks per year, underwriting is based on the destination country code

What About Premium Payments?

Depending on the company you buy from, there may be special stipulations associated with your premium payments. It’s important to understand this upfront to ensure that you don’t run into any issues when remitting payment in the future. 

Here are some things you need to think about:

  • All premium payments, including the first one, must be debited from a United States-based bank account 
  • The bank account you choose must be in your name
  • All premium payments must meet full compliance standards with the Company Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and Anti-money Laundering (AML) procedures
  • Payment via money order is not accepted

How to Buy Life Insurance with a Green Card

By now, you understand that you can purchase life insurance as a green cardholder. Doing so is a simple process online:

  • Use an online broker that provides quotes from multiple providers
  • Compare a minimum of three to five quotes before making a final decision
  • Learn more about both whole life and term life insurance (compare the pros and cons)

Once you make a decision on the company and type of policy that’s best for you and your budget, follow through with the application process. At the end, you’ll make your initial premium payment and your policy will be active. 

Final Thoughts on Buying Life Insurance with a Green Card

A green card changes the way you buy life insurance in some ways, but overall the process is more or less the same. As long as you know what’s expected of you and what you need to complete an application, you shouldn’t run into any challenges. And even if you do, most of them are easy to work through promptly.

So, you can forget about your green card status as start your search for the perfect life insurance policy. You’ll be glad that you did! 


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