Once upon a time, the terms HIV and life insurance did not go together in a sentence. HIV positive people found it next to impossible to obtain life insurance after their diagnosis. In 1997, Guaranteed Life and Trust made a difference by using risk specialists to determine life expectancies and more, making life insurance an option once more for HIV positive patients.
History
Human immunodeficiency virus or HIV can lead to AIDS, but does not always do so. HIV is transmitted through the exchange of bodily fluids and prior to screening at blood banks, this included donated blood. Reported cases of HIV began making mainstream media news in the early 1980s. Panic and disinformation about the disease led to many insurance companies denying coverage to patients diagnosed with HIV if they were not already covered by a policy. Mortality rates associated with HIV were high in the early days of research, due to the patient's compromised immune system. In 1995, mortality was estimated that 485 out of every 1,000 patients while in 2001, mortality rates declined to 101 out of every 1,000. Improved medications, better treatment and diagnostic programs and a growing school of medicine that focuses on HIV and AIDs patients makes obtaining life insurance an option for HIV patients.
Function
Life insurance is designed to meet two primary needs. The first, burial insurance will cover the cost of a funeral and burial. This relieves survivors of the financial burden to pay for these two services. The second provides a financial legacy for survivors which can also defray any medical debts incurred prior to death. The difficulty of obtaining life insurance often meant that families of HIV and AIDS patients were left with huge financial costs to cope with in the wake of their grief.
Considerations
Not many insurance companies offer life insurance for HIV positive patients; however, of those that do such as Impaired Risk Specialists, there are some considerations to keep in mind. First, the patient must be between the ages of 21 and 49 years old. The HIV positive individual must be able to work, have a limited amount of the virus and be able to maintain an active lifestyle. The potential policy holder must also have contracted the virus through sexual contact or accidental needle stick. Intravenous drug users are considered a much higher risk. Once an individual develops full blown AIDS, the company will not offer them life insurance.
Benefits
Life insurance provides HIV patients and their families with a safety net in the event of death whether due to the disease or not. Many variables will affect the premiums, but advances in medicine, slow progression of the disease and relevant research can reduce premiums over time. Only one or two insurance companies offer life insurance to HIV patients, a person diagnosed with HIV should obtain life insurance as soon as possible if they do not already have a policy in place. Many terminal illnesses will render a person ineligible for a new policy at many major life insurance companies, including New York Life and MetLife.
Expert Insight
HIV patients should speak to their case workers and social workers to identify their best options for life insurance and other programs that may be available. As AIDS medications become more effective, more insurance companies are willing to take the risk. Guarantee Trust Life insurance, one of the first companies to offer life insurance to HIV patients, is available in all states except New York. It is also not available in Puerto Rico.
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