Insurers criticised for not providing appropriate HIV products and support
Insurance providers are not offering appropriate products and support to the growing number of people living with HIV, a report by UK-based financial services firm Emerald Life shows.
Under current medical data from Public Health England, those living with HIV take medication and have undetectable viral loads and have life expectancy no shorter than those without HIV, as well as no increased risk to health.
People living with HIV as described above have actually longer life expectancies as they are under regular medical supervision, according to the Center for Disease Control in the United States.
Insurers have not been taking the revised medical prognosis into account in terms of customer service, pricing or policy terms. They have been failing to keep up with the latest medical data, according to Emerald Life.
On World Aids Day, the report highlights that the majority of insurers in certain sectors such as travel, until recently, are still increasing premiums for people living with HIV, regardless of their specific medical circumstances, or would exclude HIV as a covered condition.
Steve Wardlaw, chairman of Emerald Life, said: “Those living with HIV and who have undetectable viral loads in many cases still cannot get fairly priced insurance or have HIV excluded as a condition in their policies, unlike other illnesses.”
Research from Emerald also shows that 1 in 17 gay men do not take insurance because they worry an insurer will assume that they are HIV positive. With more people contracting the virus, things have to change.
“With advances in medication, those living with HIV have no reduction in life expectancy, according to government figures. Yet until recently those people could face significantly higher insurance premiums because some of the insurance sector has failed to keep up with the latest medical data,” Wardlaw said.
“We hear from the HIV charities that we work with that life insurance applications often still include a question about whether you have ever been tested for HIV. Not only does this discourage people from getting tested, it also implies that you must be in a high-risk group if you have ever had a HIV test,” he added.
Emerald Life is a financial services firm that provides products and services to diversity groups.
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