Indexed universal life insurance (IUL) is permanent life insurance from international insurers, with a US dollar death benefit from US$1m and a cash value that earns index linked credits within a 0% floor and a cap; policy charges still apply, so cash value can fall. Residents of Sweden can apply for IUL owned through a trust or a company; personal ownership is not available to them. Swedes living abroad apply under the rules of their country of residence. Sweden taxes foreign capital insurance held by a Swedish taxpayer through a yearly yield tax, 1.065% of the capital base for 2026, and how that applies to a trust or company is a question for your tax adviser. Sweden has had no inheritance tax since 2005. Capital for Life specialises in IUL and PPLI for internationally mobile families and the advisers who serve them. Information, not advice.
Can I buy IUL while living in Sweden?Yes, through a trust or a company, subject to insurer acceptance. Personal ownership is not available to residents of Sweden. Cover starts at US$1m, for lives insured aged 18 to 79.
Everything on this page is information, not advice. You can come to us directly, or through your financial adviser or private bank.
We work with you directly. Policies are issued on the basis of your country of residence, not your nationality, and we coordinate the illustrations, underwriting and medicals with the insurer.
If you live in Sweden, a trust or a company owns the policy, so the structure is agreed with your lawyer, trustee or tax adviser before the application.
To request an illustration, email quotes@capitalforlife.com.
Where you introduce a client, your own regulatory permissions govern the advice given to your client, and the client relationship stays with you. We provide the specialist structuring: insurer comparison, underwriting coordination and policy design.
Yes, through a trust or a company. Residents of Sweden can apply for IUL from international life insurers when a trust or a company owns the policy; personal ownership is not available to them. Swedes living abroad and expatriates apply under the rules of their country of residence.
Eligibility is set by your country of residence and the insurer's underwriting, not your nationality. Insurers accept applicants aged 18 to 79, and cover starts at US$1m of death benefit. There is no fixed upper limit for qualified applicants: large (jumbo) cases are structured across more than one insurer.
Capital insurance in Sweden is usually held as a traditional, unit linked (fondförsäkring) or custody (depåförsäkring) policy. [7] An IUL is a different contract: a US dollar death benefit with a cash value that earns index linked credits, issued by an insurer outside Sweden.
For residents of Sweden the policy is owned by a trust or a company. Each insurer sets its own rules on which trust and company structures it accepts, so the structure is agreed before the application goes in. For Swedes living abroad, the ownership routes depend on the country they live in. Capital for Life specialises in IUL and PPLI for internationally mobile families and the advisers who serve them. The full guide to the product is what is indexed universal life insurance.
Cover starts at US$1m with no fixed upper limit. Cases of US$10m and more, often called jumbo life insurance, are structured across several international insurers.
Expat life insurance in Sweden and abroad: a US dollar policy stays in force whether you live in Stockholm, Dubai, Spain or Portugal, and moves with you when you return.
Life insurance for business owners in Sweden: a company can own the policy on a founder, partner or key executive and receive the death benefit. See Key Person for Life.
The trust or company that owns the policy can borrow against the cash value to fund a purchase in Sweden or abroad, or to clear property loans, while the policy stays in force.
| Feature | Term life | Whole of life | IUL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Length of cover | A set number of years | Lifetime, while premiums are paid | Lifetime, while the policy is funded |
| Cash value | None | Depends on the contract; guaranteed protection plans often have none | Yes, earning index linked credits within a 0% floor and a cap |
| Borrowing against the policy | No | Only where the contract builds a cash value | Yes, through policy loans from the insurer |
| Suited to | A need for a fixed period, such as a mortgage | Lifetime cover at a set cost | Lifetime US dollar cover with a cash value to borrow against |
The uses that lead are a defined US dollar legacy for family, borrowing against the policy for property and business, and cover for founders and key people. Each is a structure to consider, not a recommendation.
The death benefit is set from day one and paid in US dollars to the trust or company that owns the policy. Families use a trust to pass a defined sum to children who live in Sweden and abroad, in the shares the trust deed sets.
Sweden has had no inheritance tax since 2005. [8] See Family for Life.
Once cash value has built, the trust or company that owns the policy can borrow against it to fund property in Sweden, Spain or Portugal, a business opportunity or school fees, and keep investments in place. The loan is a contractual right under the policy, arranged with the insurer.
The policy stays in force while the loan runs. Loan interest applies, and any outstanding loan is deducted from the death benefit. See how IUL policy loans work.
A company can own an IUL on a founder, partner or key executive, pay the premiums and receive the death benefit to fund the business through the loss or a buyout between shareholders.
A Swedish company that holds a foreign capital insurance policy pays the yield tax itself, at 30% of the tax base, and that tax is not deductible. [10] See key person cover.
US$3m of cover on a 10-pay plan, owned by a trust, male non-smoker aged 45
$57,762 × 10 = $577,620. The death benefit is 5.2 times the planned premiums.
This is an illustrative example, not a client. A founder in Stockholm, aged 45 and a non-smoker, has sold part of his company and wants a defined US dollar sum for his two children. As a resident of Sweden he cannot own the policy personally, so a trust set up for his children owns US$3m of IUL cover on his life, on a 10-pay plan. The planned premium from the indicative table is US$57,762 a year, US$577,620 over ten years.
The trust holds the policy and receives the US dollar death benefit for the children, in the shares the trust deed sets. Sweden has no inheritance or gift tax. How Sweden taxes the trust, the policy and payments to his children is settled with his tax adviser before the application, and tax where each child lives can still apply.
Premium from the indicative table below (male, non-smoker, aged 40 to 49, US$3m).
Share of selections, multiple selections allowed · 1,800 verified enquiries, June 2024 to June 2025
Many Swedes who have lived abroad already hold an offshore bond. An international IUL is also a life insurance policy issued outside the investor's home country, and for UK tax it is treated in the same way as an offshore bond. The difference is what sits inside: an offshore bond holds an investment portfolio, while an IUL holds a death benefit and a cash value that earns index linked credits. Offshore bonds and IUL compared.
IUL is a life insurance policy first, with credits earned inside the insurer's index accounts. Families who want open investment choice use private placement life insurance (PPLI) or an offshore bond instead, and some hold both for different jobs.
An IUL policy has two parts: a death benefit and a cash value. Premiums, after charges, build the cash value, which earns credits linked to an index such as the S&P 500, within a cap and a 0% floor.
The cap rate limits the credit in a strong year. The floor means a negative index year produces a nil credit instead of an index loss. Policy charges are deducted regardless, which is why cash value can still fall in a flat or negative year.
Once sufficient cash value has built, you can borrow against it. Fixed and participating loans behave differently in different index conditions. The death benefit is paid to your beneficiaries under the policy terms.
Hypothetical S&P 500 returns · 9.3% annual cap · 0% floor
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 return | +13.7% | -9.1% | +5.5% | +19.4% | -14.2% | +7.8% | -3.5% | +14.0% |
| IUL credit | 9.3% | 0% | 5.5% | 9.3% | 0% | 7.8% | 0% | 9.3% |
Each insurer sets its own caps, charges, underwriting terms and ownership rules. A policy illustration shows the figures for a specific policy.
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Capital for Life works with regulated financial advisers, private banks, trustees and family offices, and with the internationally mobile families and entrepreneurs they look after. Where an adviser introduces a client, that adviser's own regulatory permissions govern the advice given to their client.
This page is general information about indexed universal life insurance for residents of Sweden and Swedish nationals living abroad. It is not an offer, invitation or recommendation to any person, and it does not take account of individual circumstances. Policy terms, underwriting, eligibility and ownership rules are set by each insurer, and each insurer decides whether it accepts residents of Sweden. Residents of Sweden hold IUL through a trust or a company. Swedish tax rules are stated as at November 2026 from Skatteverket and Swedish legislation and can change, and tax treatment depends on residence, citizenship and ownership. Capital for Life Ltd does not provide legal or tax advice. Seek advice from a suitably qualified adviser before acting.
Capital for Life is a Partner Practice of Forest Wealth for the purpose of advising on the company's wealth management products and services. Forest Wealth is regulated in Switzerland, Mauritius, and South Africa, with recognised regulatory relationships in the UAE, the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States. Service availability may vary by location.
© 2026 Capital for Life Ltd. All rights reserved.
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