When people head abroad to live, whether they travel for financial reasons, to seek work, to follow a partner or for any other purpose, they typically need expat insurance so they can benefit from international healthcare and other such things. If figures released recently by Lloyds TSB International are accurate, the number of people leaving the UK may rise, thus pushing up the demand for such financial cover.
The firm suggested that of the individuals it polled in the top income bracket, 36 per cent want to move to foreign destinations and 35 per cent revealed this was because of the levies they face at home.
Responding to this, Bloomsbury financial planning director Jason Butler remarked: “It is illogical to state that we are lowering corporation tax to be competitive when we are raising personal taxes to generate revenue. I have already had two wealthy clients emigrate because of high taxes.”
However, there is by no means universal agreement that more people will leave Britain because of tax reasons.
For example, Worldwide Financial Planning director Nick McBreen stated: “Every time there is a tax change, we hear about this raft of people who are going to ship out but the complexities mean it does not work. So they turn around and come back.” He also claimed that the current panic is all “smoke and mirrors”.
Anyone who does decide to move away, whether for financial purposes or not, now has access to a broader range of cover options than ever before, meaning they have a greater level of choice concerning the insurance they take out. By putting careful thought into the decision, they should be able to ensure they have the perfect product for them. But if they fail to get appropriate expat insurance cover, they may find they are not entitled to the sort of international healthcare they require.