Banorte, one of Mexico’s largest banks, is now offering life insurance to immigrants working in the United States or Canada. Designed to protect their families in Mexico, the insurance covers the death of immigrants who are working abroad.

The policy will pay their families up to 50,000 pesos – over USD$3,700 – as well as costs and arrangements for repatriation to Mexico. The policy costs 660 pesos a year, or about USD$49.

A statement issued by Banorte said that returning a body from the United States to Mexico can be prohibitively expensive, costing between $3,000 and $5,000.

There are an estimated 12 million illegal Mexican immigrants working in the United States, mostly in low-paying jobs in agriculture, construction and the service industry.