Nearly two-thirds of expatriates are taking the risk of not having any life or income protection insurance in place.
A William Russell survey found that, while taking out suitable international private medical cover represents a prudent investment for expatriates, on the whole, purchasing protection products is not considered as important.
The survey, of 650 expatriate policyholders from all parts of the world, asked whether they had any life or income protection insurance in place, with any insurer.
Over half (61.4%) indicated that they didn't, with a further 5.7% saying they were unsure. So, only 32.9% of those questioned had life and/or income protection insurance.
Conversely, when life and income protection insurance clients were questioned about their health insurance arrangements, just under 70% said they had health insurance in place, with a further 7.4% saying they were unsure.
James Cooper, sales director at William Russell, said: "It is worrying to see how many expatriates are not making financial provision in the event of their untimely death, or an illness or accident that would prevent them from working.
"The results are perhaps unsurprising when viewed alongside falling domestic figures, but they do demonstrate a real need for expatriate consumers to be adequately advised and informed about the risks of being uninsured, as when living overseas."
Other noteworthy findings of the customer survey include the fact that, despite the popularity of online technology, one in four policyholders still prefer to access and view their insurance documents in hard copy format. Additionally, the ever-growing popularity of smartphones was reflected in the fact that almost two in three customers would encourage the development of a William Russell mobile application.
