Unusual Risks, the medical financial advisers are today announcing the results of their HIV Insurance Survey. After contacting all of the major Life Assurance providers in the UK, they can report that 72%* of insurers are now offering some form of HIV Life Assurance.

Unusual Risks Mortgage & Insurance Services

This is the fifth year that Unusual Risks have surveyed the availability of HIV Life Assurance in the UK, with the earliest survey result in 2011 indicating only 50%* of insurance providers were offering any form of HIV Life Assurance.

This year Unusual Risks have broadened the focus of their survey by highlighting the lack of availability of Income Protection and Critical Illness Cover to people living with HIV. The Campaign to secure IPP & CIC for HIV Positive people has now been running for just over 12 months.

Speaking about their survey, Chris Morgan, Lead Financial Adviser of Unusual Risks said;

‘We recently surveyed the top eleven life assurance groups, servicing brokers and were delighted to see that 72%* of companies are offering Life Assurance to HIV Positive people. It is encouraging to see an increasing number of Life Assurance providers and products available to the HIV community’.

‘Unusual Risks are actively campaigning for Insurance providers to offer Income Protection and Critical Illness Cover to HIV Positive people and are currently in discussions with the Association of British Insurers over these matters on behalf of the HIV Community’.

‘Over the last twelve months we have seen an increase from 61%* up to 90%* of HIV Positive people, that would consider IPP & CIC if it were available in the market place. Every week HIV Positive people contact my office looking for these products to protect their mortgages, partners and families’.

In this year’s HIV Insurance Survey Unusual Risks once again established that currently 0%* of the major Insurance companies currently offer any form of Income Protection Insurance or Critical Illness Cover to people already diagnosed with HIV.

Earlier in the year Unusual Risks released research supporting the suggestion that Insurance companies should consider doing so, as 89%* of the respondents had taken less than 7 days off work due to sickness in the last twelve months and 74% of respondents had taken less than the national average of 4 days or less.

Chris Morgan at Unusual Risks led the campaign for the introduction of HIV life Assurance from 1999 through to its introduction in 2009. He believes that it’s now time the UK Insurance industry take a serious look at providing Income Protection and Critical Illness Cover for people with HIV.

*Unusual Risks surveyed the top eleven insurance providers servicing independent brokers between March 2015 and August 2015 They asked ‘Do you accept Life Assurance Applications from HIV positive people? With eight out of eleven responding ‘Yes’ to the question. They also surveyed the same leading Insurance providers. They asked ‘Do you offer either Income Protection or Critical Illness Cover to people with HIV? With zero out of eleven responding ‘Yes’ to the question.

In research released in March and May 2015 Unusual Risks surveyed 100 HIV Positive people and asked them ‘If Income Protection or Critical Illness Cover was available to people living with HIV would they consider taking out these types of Insurance? 90% Answered Yes and 10% Answered No. Unusual Risks also established that over a twelve month period 89% of respondents had taken less than 7 days off work due to sickness and 74% of respondents had taken less than the national average of 4 days of less due to sickness.

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