The 90% figure is a substantial increase on a figure of 61% that was included in a previous survey conducted earlier last year. Since last year’s survey Unusual Risks have launched a campaign to raise awareness around the issue and to gauge the potential interest for these types of financial products within the HIV Community.
Chris Morgan, lead financial adviser of Unusual Risks, said: “Since the introduction of HIV Life Assurance in 2009 we have received a steady flow of enquiries from HIV Positive people about other types of personal insurances such income protection and critical illness cover.
“Income protection and critical illness cover are currently unavailable to people with HIV, which is a very similar to the situation that I was faced with when HIV Positive people were asking me for life insurance products back in 1999.”
Morgan led the campaign that resulted in the introduction of life assurance for HIV positive people. He was part of the Working Group that co-wrote the HIV and Insurance guidelines used by insurers today and was also responsible for the removal of the “Gay Question” from life assurance proposals back in 2005.
He added: “Many people will be aware that the campaign for HIV Life Assurance ran for nearly a decade before insurance companies agreed to offer life assurance to people with HIV. It is my belief that people with HIV should be offered the same financial opportunities as any other group of people.”
Unusual Risks decided to run the extended study following their HIV Life Assurance Survey in 2014, where they established that 0% of UK Insurance companies offered any form of income protection or critical illness cover to HIV Positive people. In that same survey they established that 70% of insurance providers now offer some form of life assurance for people living with HIV.
