A warning has been issued about the lack of attention that the main life insurance providers show to people suffering from the HIV virus. Unusual Risks, the medical financial advice specialist, has urged life insurance companies to improve how they do business with HIV sufferers, after a survey they carried out showed that only four of the 12 largest life insurance providers in the UK offered life insurance business for those with HIV.
The research found that only Prudential, Zurich, Fortis and Scottish Provident were willing to cover HIV patients, and that the Prudential was the only company to provide competitive prices. They presented a test case to all the insurers, which was rejected by Fortis and Scottish Provident, while Zurich quoted life insurance cover on a premium of GBP10 per GBP1,000, and Prudential offered GBP5 per GBP1,000.
Chris Morgan, marketing manager at Unusual Risks, commented "What you have got is companies coming to the market on a pot shot, trying to take a bit of the market and get some claim experience at the expense of the client."
The insurance companies were asked for a response to the findings. A spokesman for Fortis said "We do not automatically exclude cover for customers with any pre-existing conditions. We assess every case on a range of factors in arriving at decisions on whether terms can be offered."
Phil Brown, underwriting and claims director at Zurich UK Life, commented "The insurability of HIV-positive customers is still in its infancy and as such our position is to continue to assess each applicant on their own merits, considering the many aspects of risk involved."
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This is an impossible situation when you think about it. You can’t discriminate HIV patients, they have a shorter life span yes, but it could still be decades at that, on the other hand, insurance companies can’t offer the standard 25 year policy as its pushing it (from their view) and the odds are greatly reduced on a payout.
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