Unfortunately, some personal finance products are not available to people who know they are living with HIV. This includes most life insurance policies, private medical insurance, critical illness cover and income protection. Insurance application forms should be filled in honestly and accurately – if they are not, the policy will not be valid and the company may refuse to pay out if a claim is made.

On the other hand, if you took out a policy before you were diagnosed, it may continue to be valid. You need to check the small print of the policy, in particular the list of ‘exclusions’.

If an insurance company asks your doctor for a medical report, you need to give permission before a report is sent.  

In terms of travel insurance, policies often exclude cover for pre-existing medical conditions, including HIV. Nonetheless, it may be worth taking out cover just in case you have an illness that is unrelated to HIV, have an accident, lose your luggage or have something stolen.

However, not all policies exclude cover for HIV, so it’s worth checking the exclusion criteria of individual policies. In addition, some specialist companies provide cover specifically for people with pre-existing medical conditions, including HIV, including World First, It’s So Easy Travel Insurance and Freedom Travel Insurance.

“You pay a lot extra and disclose your status to the insurers and you know that they will claim that everything you’ve got is a pre-existing medical condition. So you are basically travelling without health insurance… I think of my travel insurance as not covering my health.”

Having HIV shouldn’t prevent you from getting a mortgage or a pension.