Life insurers 'stigmatising' HIV-positive customers

Many life insurers are "stigmatising" people who are HIV-positive by refusing to offer them life cover or loading premiums to unaffordable levels, it was claimed this week.

Compass, a firm of financial advisers that offers specialist advice to gay and HIV-positive communities, said its research had found that eight of the top 12 UK insurers said they did not accept applications from HIV-positive people.

When it submitted a test case to the four insurers that said they did accept applications, two – Scottish Provident and Fortis – declined it altogether, said Chris Morgan, marketing manager of the Devon-based firm.

Of the other two companies, Zurich loaded the premium so much the customer would have to pay around £220 per month, almost double the £116 that Prudential would charge, he added.

The test case was that of a 30-year-old non-smoker, seeking £250,000 of life cover for 10 years, and was chosen because he has one of the best blood cell counts and "viral loads" – a measure of the severity of a viral infection – of any client Compass has represented.

Morgan said Prudential had loaded its premium, too, but at least it was offering "useful cover at a realistic price".

Early last year, Prudential became the first mainstream insurer to offer life cover to people with HIV. Since then, a few other companies have made tentative steps into this new market.

Morgan said: "Some of our findings and answers received from insurers are completely worrying. It is apparent the majority are still in the dark ages and attaching a stigma to HIV." He added that his firm recognised insurers had the right to decline applicants on medical grounds, but it felt they were not dedicating enough attention to this developing market, and taking the needs of HIV-positive people seriously enough. "Either companies are avoiding the issue by not offering cover, or offering completely inadequate, overpriced products and services."

Groups such as the Terrence Higgins Trust are campaigning to get gay men to come forward and take HIV tests. Paul Ward of THT told BBC Radio 4 this week: "If you are positive, you can start treatment and it's very effective. For someone in their 30s, diagnosed today, there is every likelihood they are going to live into their 70s." Yet worries over insurance are cited as one reason why many gay men in the UK do not test for HIV.

In a statement, Phil Brown, Zurich UK's life, underwriting and claims director, said that while it would be inappropriate to comment on individual cases, "of decisions made on HIV positives this year, approximately 85% have been offered terms". He added: "We assess each applicant on their own merits, considering the many aspects of risk involved including treatment, response to treatment and the applicant's compliance with treatment."

Scottish Provident said it was happy to assess applications from HIV-positive customers on an individual basis, and is most likely to offer terms where the customer has an "undetectably low" viral load, and a consistently high white cell count, has shown good compliance with anti-viral treatment, and needs cover for 10 years or less. But Morgan said: "We have submitted 10 pre-sales enquiries over the past three months and it eventually told us to stop sending because it was not in the position to offer any terms."

Fortis commented: "We do not automatically exclude cover for customers with any pre-existing conditions. However, we assess every case on a wide range of factors in arriving at decisions on whether terms can be offered."