Is getting life insurance when you are HIV positive hard?
Life insurance is vital. The death benefit covers funeral costs, and the payout can provide long-term financial security for your loved ones. But can you get life insurance when you have HIV?
Learn how to get life insurance when are HIV positive
Sa El is the co-founder and CEO of Simply Insurance, a platform that provides a simple and fast way to purchase insurance online. Sa is a licensed life and health insurance agent with 10-plus years of experience in the insurance industry. In addition to being an ambitious entrepreneur, Sa is an insurance educator and field underwriter on a mission to get one million families insured.
Sa joins Queer Money to explain the fundamentals of underwriting as well as the benefits of securing a no-exam policy. He briefly explains the no-exam option and discusses the difference between a group and individual policy. Sa walks us through the life insurance options available to people who are HIV+, covering the ONLY company currently willing to underwrite those individuals, the additional requirements for someone who’s HIV+, and what factors may STILL prevent them from being approved. Learn the benefits of buying a policy as soon as possible and serving as both owner and insured—and hear where to go for resources and support in choosing the most affordable life insurance product for your situation!
Hear how to get life insurance when you have HIV
Topics covered about how to get life insurance when you have HIV
The fundamentals of underwriting
- The process to determine eligibility based on guidelines
- Medical history, motor vehicle report, prescriptions
The benefit of securing a no-exam policy
- The exam may uncover diabetes, HIV+, ALS, etc.
- Put self in a position that can’t get insurance
The history of the no-exam option
- Began in form of final expense products
- The simplified issue offers an instant answer
- Policy through an employer (underwrite group as whole)
Why you should secure individual coverage
- The policy doesn’t come with you if quit or fired
- The employer owns the policy, can change the beneficiary
The life insurance options for someone who’s HIV+
- Easiest to get coverage through an employer
- Try no-exam option if not diagnosed
- May get approval if documented, not on prescriptions
- John Hancock only company that will underwrite HIV+
The additional requirements for HIV+ individuals to qualify
- Age 30-65
- Monitored by a qualified physician
- Minimum five years of compliance (no lapses in treatment)
- A CD4 count of 350 cells/mm3 or higher for at least two years
- Current CD4 count
- Current negative hepatitis B and C testing
- Current and prior two years viral load
- Undetectable with <20 copies/ml or below current lab limit
Other reasons why someone who’s HIV+ can be denied coverage
- Newly diagnosed
- Any AIDS-defining illness
- Documented viral resistance to treatment
- History of drug or alcohol abuse
- Ratable psychiatric conditions
- Ratable low or decreasing build
The benefits of securing life insurance as soon as possible
- Healthier, lock in a rate for maximum savings
- Buy young and pay less over time
Why it’s important to own your own life insurance policy
- Four components = owner, insured, beneficiary and payer
- Only owner can make changes (e.g.: new beneficiary)
- Insured must sign the application
Why insurance companies are denying people on PrEP
- Medically associated with HIV+
- Viewed as engaging in risky behavior
- The community must voice an opinion to change the perception
The advantages of working with an insurance agent
- Understand the situation and find the best company to underwrite
- The company pays agent directly (policy same price either way)
Sa’s insight around choosing life insurance
- Buy for people left behind (not you)
- Most affordable product to support a family
- Recommends 10—20X annual income
- Do NOT go uninsured if you can help it