HIV Life Assurance, HIV Life Insurance and HIV Mortgage Blog

Chris Morgan, our Practice Manager has recently been interviewed by Gus Cairns at the leading publication HIV Treatment Update, which is published by http://www.aidsmap.com/

The article is probably the most detailed and comprehensive ever independently written about HIV Life Assurance and contains lot’s of releveant information for both the  HIV+ and Gay  Communities.

You can read the article by visiting the link below.

http://www.aidsmap.com/Rest-assured-life-insurance-for-people-with-HIV/page/2310816/

If you require more information on HIV Life Assurance & HIV Mortgages you can contact Unusual Risks Mortgage & Insurance Services on 0845 474 3075, or email at Enquiries@unusualrisks.co.uk and on the web www.unusualrisks.co.uk.

PRESS RELEASE

Unusual Risks, the medical financial advisers are once again this week highlighting to the HIV community the opportunity they now have to take out Life Assurance, by asking the question Do you know HIV+ people can now buy Life Assurance?

After conducting research Unusual Risks estimate that 80% of HIV positive people are still unaware they can buy Life Assurance. This is remarkable when considering another recent study that confirmed 82% of HIV Positive people had no Life Assurance whatsoever.

HIV Life Assurance was introduced by the insurance industry after over a decade of campaigning from the gay and HIV insurance activist Chris Morgan. In November 2011 it was established that 50% of Insurance providers now offer Life Assurance to cover people living with HIV.

Chris Morgan, Marketing Manager of Unusual Risks Mortgage & Insurance Services Says,

‘We have to remember that people living with HIV have been told by the insurance industry that they can’t have life assurance for nearly two decades. It’s understandable that people may feel cautious towards the new HIV Life Assurance products as they are still a relatively new idea’.

Chris Continued …

’12 years ago when I started campaigning for this product to be available the dream was for people living with HIV to be able to buy Life Assurance in the same way as any other applicant. We now have this service available and I’d like to encourage people to take advantage of this’.

Without any doubt the need for HIV Life Assurance has become more apparent over the last few years with the success of medications and the continued increase of newly diagnosed patients. Higher CD4 counts and near non-detectable viral loads are leading to improved life expectancy.

The terms and premiums for HIV Life Assurance have continued to improve since the launch of the product in 2009. This is now especially the case since a number of new companies have entered the market, creating a competitive market place.

Unusual Risks are committed to the continued development of HIV Life Assurance and are constantly liaising with the insurance providers to improve the products available. As independent advisers we have a policy of approaching all available providers for each and every client.

*Unusual Risks surveyed 100 HIV Positive people based in the UK with the co-operation of Baseline Magazine and asked them ‘Did you know HIV+ people can now buy life assurance?’ Of the people that responded only 20 said yes.

If you require more information on HIV Life Assurance & HIV Mortgages you can contact Unusual Risks Mortgage & Insurance Services on 0845 474 3075, or email at Enquiries@unusualrisks.co.uk and on the web www.unusualrisks.co.uk.

More recent press for Unusual Risks who have recently been getting lot’s of national headlines with their recent HIV Life Assurance campaign.

We are asking ….. Is this the UK’s most underinsured community?

Leading industry magazine COVER recently published this article …

http://www.covermagazine.co.uk/cover/news/2154492/hiv-community-untapped-protection-market-unusual-risks 

For more infomation or advice about HIV Mortgages and HIV Life Assurance visit our website at http://www.unusualrisks.co.uk/  phone us on 0845 474 3075 or email us at enquiries@unusualrisks.co.uk

Unusual Risks have recently been getting lot’s of  national headlines with their recent HIV Life Assurance campaign. Over the coming weeks we will be featuring some of the news articles, features and interviews connected with HIV Life Assurance and HIV Mortgages.

We are asking ….. Is this the UK’s most underinsured community?

Leading industry newspaper FT Adviser recently published this article …

http://www.ftadviser.com/2012/03/01/insurance/intermediary-indentifies-gap-of-advice-in-hiv-community-kk1ErE6dlTtQj5N5RMJ70I/article.html 

For more infomation or advice about HIV Mortgages and HIV Life Assurance visit our website at http://www.unusualrisks.co.uk/  phone us on 0845 474 3075 or email us at enquiries@unusualrisks.co.uk

Unusual Risks, the medical financial advisers are this week highlighting to the HIV community the opportunity they now have to take out Life Assurance, by asking the question are they the most underinsured group in the United Kingdom?

After conducting research Unusual Risks estimate that it is likely that 82%* of HIV positive people in the UK have no Life Assurance at all. This compares to a Swiss Re research figure for the wider community of 52% who currently have no Life Cover.

Over 50% of Life Assurance providers now offer cover to HIV Positive people with the price of cover varying according to age, date of diagnosis, time on medication, current CD4 count and viral load. This is big improvement from two years ago when only one product existed.

Chris Morgan, Marketing Manager of Unusual Risks Mortgage & Insurance Services Says,

‘The HIV community were excluded from taking Life Assurance for many years and now that the product is available many are unaware it even exists. We are therefore actively encouraging HIV Positive people to protect their Mortgages and loved ones’.

Chris Continued …

‘Many people living with HIV who had Life Assurance products in the past such as endowments surrendered them on diagnosis, or they decided to freeze their pensions which included Life Assurance, or cancelled their policies due to restrictive exclusions’.

The need for Life Assurance in the HIV community has become more apparent over the last few years with the success of medications. Higher CD4 counts and near non-detectable viral loads are leading to improved life expectancy amongst many HIV Positive people.

Campaigners spent many years consulting within the Association of British Insurers HIV Working Group, trying to persuade Insurance companies to provide Life Assurance for HIV Positive people. It’s important that the HIV community are aware that this product now exists.

Unusual Risks are committed to the development of HIV Life Assurance and are constantly liaising with the insurance providers to improve the products available. As independent advisers they have a policy of approaching all available providers for each and every client.

*Unusual Risks surveyed 100 HIV Positive people based in the UK through Baseline Magazine and Terence Higgins Trust and asked them ‘Do you have any form of Life Assurance? Of the people that responded 18 said yes and 82 said no.

If you require more information on Unusual Risks Mortgage & Insurance Services call us on 0845 474 3075, or email at Enquiries@unusualrisks.co.uk and on the web www.unusualrisks.co.uk.

HIV Life Insurance (also known as HIV Life Assurance) is the term used for Life Insurance polices taken out by HIV positive people.

In the past there has been discrimination by the mortgage and insurance industry towards HIV+ people, particularly in regards to compulsary blood testing and unecessary personal questions.  

If you are HIV Positive and are in any doubt with regards to the requirements from a Mortgage Lender or Life Insurance company, then seek specialist financial advice.

You can find more information about HIV Life Insurance here.

What is? … HIV Life Insurance http://unusual-risks.co.uk/?p=92

Unusual Risks Mortgage and Insurance Services are Financial Advisers to the HIV Community and may be reached by phone 0845 474 3075, or by email Enquiries@unusualrisks.co.uk

Their website may be found at  http://www.unusualrisks.co.uk/

Unusual Risks have made national headlines on the IFA online website with their HIV Life Assurance Survey 2011.

Chris Morgan, their Marketing Manager who is known for campaigning on behalf of the Gay and HIV communties over Life Assurance and Mortgage issues has been quoted extensively in the article.

http://www.ifaonline.co.uk/cover/news/2125376/hiv-enters-insurance-mainstream

Unusual Risks Mortgage & Insurance advisers to the HIV community can be contacted by phone 0845 474 3075 by email enquiries@unusualrisks.co.uk or by web http://www.unusualrisks.co.uk/

HIV Life Assurance  is the term used for Life Assurance polices taken out by HIV positive people.

In the past there has been discrimination by the mortgage and insurance industry towards HIV+ people, particularly in regards to compulsary blood testing and unecessary personal questions.  

If you are HIV Positive and are in any doubt with regards to the requirements from a Mortgage Lender or Life Assurance company, then seek specialist financial advice.

You can find more information about HIV Life Assurance here.

What is? … HIV Life Assuance http://unusual-risks.co.uk/?p=111

Unusual Risks Mortgage and Insurance Services are Financial Advisers to the HIV Community and may be reached by phone 0845 474 3075, or by email Enquiries@unusualrisks.co.uk

Their website may be found at  http://www.unusualrisks.co.uk/

Unusual Risks have made national headlines in the FT Adviser this last week with their HIV Life Assurance Survey 2011.

Chris Morgan, their Marketing Manager who is known for campaigning on behalf of the Gay and HIV communties over Life Assurance and Mortgage issues has been quoted extensively in the article.

http://www.ftadviser.com/2011/11/15/insurance/life-assurance/hiv-insurance-needs-still-unmet-kYf0hlMZiNXdPPIQbaNE8H/article.html

Unusual Risks Mortgage & Insurance advisers to the HIV community can be contacted by phone 0845 474 3075 by email enquiries@unusualrisks.co.uk or by web http://www.unusualrisks.co.uk/

Unusual Risks, the medical financial advisers are today announcing the results of their HIV Life Assurance survey 2011. After contacting all of the major Life Assurance providers in the UK, they can now report that 50%* of insurers are now offering some form of HIV Life Assurance.

 Even though half of the major insurance companies surveyed have now entered the market Unusual Risks believe that the needs of HIV Positive people are not being met. Of the six insurance providers that stated they do offer HIV Life Assurance only three are actually offering pre-sale’s quotations.

This means that many people living with HIV are still being asked to complete applications, submit to medicals and blood tests before any indication of cost is offered. This is much the same situation as 12 months ago and Unusual Risks still believe this to be non-competitive and unfair on applicants.

Speaking about their survey, Chris Morgan, Marketing Manager of Unusual Risks Said,

 ‘We recently surveyed the top twelve life assurance companies and were pleased to see that *50% are now offering Life Assurance to HIV Positive people. This is an improvement on last year where only 33% were saying they were offering the product’.

‘It’s fair to say that some of these companies are more proactive than others in attracting this type of business with service standards and treatment of applicants varying by a massive margin. Some companies are taking 26 weeks to process an application, where others are taking only 8 weeks’.

‘The main reason for this difference is that some applicants are being sent for unnecessary medicals and blood tests which increase’s the processing time significantly. We are constantly encouraging these insurance companies to improve their treatment of HIV positive people.’

During their survey Unusual Risks discovered that Zurich, Prudential, Scottish Provident, Bright Grey, Liverpool Victoria and Aviva are now offering HIV Life Assurance. Some of these providers are more established in the market than others.

They discovered that Prudential took an average of 26 weeks to complete a HIV Life Assurance application, where other HIV Life Assurance providers are taking around 8 weeks. On average it takes around 5 weeks to complete an application for someone who is not HIV Positive.

The main reason for this delay is that people with HIV are being sent for unnecessary blood tests by some insurers to confirm results that have already been sent by their consultants. We believe this practice to be time consuming, unnecessary and in some cases discriminatory.

*Unusual Risks Mortgage & Insurance Services surveyed the top twelve insurance providers during August 2011. They asked ‘Do you accept Life Assurance Applications from HIV positive people? With six out of twelve responding ‘Yes’ to the question.

If you require more information on HIV Life Assurance please contact Unusual Risks Mortgage & Insurance Services on 0845 474 3075, or by email at mailto:enquiries@unusualrisks.co.uk and on the web http://www.unusualrisks.co.uk/