NRI Insurance Plans in India

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

You can also register for the below Auto pay options for seamless premium payments in future.

• Online Mandate
• Credit Card Standing Instructions (CCSI)
• National Automated Clearing House (NACH)

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

Yes, NRI can purchase Bajaj Allianz Life 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
  • PAN / Form 60, in case income is earned in India
  • Foreign Residency Supplementary Questionnaire (NRI/PIO Questionnaire)

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 Bajaj Allianz Life 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
• Download Life Assist App available on Android and IOS
• Connect with our WhatsApp services. Just say Hi to 8806727272 to get started
• Customer Care Number (India) – 1800 103 7272
• Call NRI Customer Care Number :

  Calling From	Phone Number (Toll Free)
  AUSTRALIA	80037371371
  CANADA
  HONG KONG
  ISRAEL
  MALAYSIA
  NEW ZEALAND
  PHILIPPINES
  SINGAPORE
  THAILAND
  UNITED KINGDOM
  BRUNEI	8014605
  INDONESIA	0018030160202
  JORDAN	080023194
  OMAN	80074363
  TURKEY	00800142030059
  VIETNAM	1800400070
  UNITED STATES	18339680951
  Calling us from INDIA	18002097272
  Rest of the World	+912067871700 (Call charges apply)

• Email Us - customercare@bajajallianz.co.in

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.

You can update information related to your policy through either of the following ways:

• Log in to the Customer Portal and opt for the relevant service request.
• Download Life Assist mobile App and opt for the relevant service request.
• Connect on Bajaj Allianz Life WhatsApp number 8806727272 and place request
• Send an email to customercare@bajajallianz.co from registered email ID along with scanned images of relevant documents.
• Visit Branch office and place relevant service request

Fund switching/redirection can be done in the following two ways:

• Log in to the Customer Portal and select Premium redirection/ Fund Switch request (as applicable) under ‘My Services’ tab OR
• Visit nearest Bajaj Allianz Life branch to place the relevant request.

“Non-resident Indian" (‘NRI’) is defined under section 115C of the Act to mean an Indian citizen or a person of Indian origin who is not a resident of India for tax purposes.
Following provisions of the Act are applicable to certain incomes of Non Resident Indian:

• Section 115D: Special provision for computation of total income of non-residents
• Section 115E: Tax on investment income and long-term capital gains
• Section 115F: Capital gains on transfer of foreign exchange assets (not to be charged in certain cases)
• Section 115G: Return of income (not to be filed in certain cases)
• Section 115H: Benefit under Chapter to be available in certain cases even after the assesse becomes resident
• Section 115-I: Chapter not to apply if the assesse so chooses

The tax eligibilities depend upon the residential status of the individual basis the Income Tax provisions and not on the basis of account held.

Double taxation occurs when income tax is paid twice, (i.e in the country of residence and in the country where the income is earned) on the same source of earned income. To avoid paying double taxation, NRIs can seek relief under the Double Tax Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) (wherever available) between the two countries, which is an arrangement between the governments of two countries, prescribing the country in which income earned from a foreign country will be taxed.
To avail this benefit, you need to gather all the necessary documents of tax paid in India, as proof. Also if there is any benefit under DTAA, no withholding tax will be deducted if customer submits valid Form 10F and valid Tax Residency Certificate (TRC) issued by Revenue Department of Foreign Country in which customer is residing.

FATCA stands for Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, and includes reporting the details of accounts (policies) held by individuals being a citizen or resident of United States of America (‘US’) as may be prescribed.

CRS stands for Common Reporting Standard, and includes reporting the details of account (policies) held by an individual belonging to a registered country, other than US citizens or US residents.

Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has prescribed rules on due diligence, maintenance of information and reporting of the accounts (policies) regarding NRI who are covered under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) or Common Reporting Standard (CRS).

It is applicable to all the policyholders, for whom, any of the following is outside India:

• Place of birth
• Citizenship or tax-residency
• Residence or Mailing address
• Telephone number (residence or mobile)
• Domiciled account with Standing instruction of transfer funds
• Residing Power of attorney or signatory authority
• A ‘hold mail’ instruction or ‘in-care-of’ address in a jurisdiction outside India, if the reporting financial institution does not have any other address on file for the account holder

For further information on FATCA/CRS, please visit www.incometaxindia.gov.in and refer to Central Board of Direct taxes (CBDT) notification news on ‘Due Diligence and Reporting Rules 114F to 114H under section 285BA of the Act, 1961’

You can follow the below mentioned steps for submitting FATCA declaration:

• Log into the Customer Portal (Bajaj Allianz Life Assist Portal) and open FATCA Declaration under NRI Corner tab
• Submit the required details and upload supporting documents
• Mandatory documents for FATCA Declaration are,
  • Valid Passport
  • TIN or TIN equivalent
  • Foreign Address Proof

As per section 195 of the Act, Tax is deducted at source (TDS) for any policy benefit that is not exempt under Section 10(10D). TDS will be applicable on the payout amount for annuity policies under Section 195 of the Act.
However, no TDS is deducted for NRIs residing in countries that are subject to Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) benefit, and where the policyholder has submitted a duly-filled Form 10F along with valid Tax Residency Certificate (TRC) to the insurer before payment. Note that where payout is recurring payout like annuity, every year customer needs to submit valid Form 10F and TRC.

PAN card is mandatory for getting credit in TDS Certificate. In the absence of PAN, customer can get Transaction based report.

Form 10F submission by an NRI is a requirement of the Act. The form contains details like Name, Address, PAN, Nationality, Tax Identification Number (TIN) or Unique ID recognised by the country of residence. Form 10F needs to be filled and submitted online on Income tax website

Form 10F can be downloaded from https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal/

TRC is a certificate issued by the Government of a country stating that the said person is a tax resident. Usually TRC is issued by tax/revenue/reserve departments of a country and is valid only for a certain period. Therefore, policyholders must avail policy benefits while the certificate is still valid – to enjoy DTAA benefit.

For ULIP policies issued before 1 Feb 2021, maturity amount will be tax free in the hands of recipient if policy is satisfying conditions mentioned under Section 10(10D) of the Act. For policies issued on or after 1 February 2021, if the aggregate annual premium of all unit-linked plans that you have is equal to or less than Rs.2.5 lakhs, maturity amount will be tax free in the hands of recipient if policy is satisfying conditions mentioned under Section 10(10D) of the Act.If the aggregate annual premium is more than Rs.2.5 lakhs, the maturity proceeds would attract capital gains tax. Double Tax Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) benefit if available can be obtained by the policyholder subject to the necessary documentation.

GST will be applicable as per the rates for respective product type (Term – 18% , Endowment( First year) – 4.5%, renewal premium – 2.25%, Annuity – 1.8%, ULIP – 18% on charges). However, GST waiver benefit can be availed by the NRI customer if the following conditions are satisfied:

• Proof of foreign address is provided (such as lease agreement, utility bill, driver’s license etc)
• Premium is paid through NRE bank account/SWIFT transfer (Along with the documentary proofs).
• GST Waiver declaration (BALIC format) that includes payment through NRE bank account and Indemnity

TDS refund cannot be allowed once TDS is deducted by the Life Insurance company and payment is made to Policy Holders.

GST refund cannot be subsequently allowed once premium payment is made by customer along with GST. For availing GST waiver, the applications should be logged in with NRI GST waiver option within the buy journey.

NRIs can repatriate claims, maturity proceeds or surrender value of life insurance policy outside India, only in proportion in which the amount of premium has been paid in foreign currency through NRE / Foreign account in relation to the total premium payable.

If premium/s are paid by customers from NRE account, payout from policy can be made in NRE account, otherwise payment will be made to NRO account.

Any amount that is received from the life insurance policy that is not exempt under section 10(10D) of the Act, will be subject to withholding tax at applicable rates (as per the provisions of the Act and the balance amount (net of taxes) will be repatriable as per the FEMA Regulations mentioned above.