Life insurance is an essential cover if you want your family to have financial protection after your death. Irrespective of your HIV status, any person who has dependents should have life cover. However, many life insurers have been reluctant to offer affordable life cover to people with certain diseases, like HIV. Fortunately this has changed in recent years. With only a few insurers willing to take the additional risk, now more South African insurers are offering HIV life insurance.
Essential Cover for HIV
Life insurance is sometimes viewed as a grudge purchase. You will be paying towards cover for years and decades without reaping any immediate benefit. However, the purpose of any insurance is to financially protect you and your loved ones when you need it the most. While you may not benefit from life insurance, your family will be assured of the financial means upon your passing. It is therefore seen as an essential cover for every person who has dependents, especially if you are a parent.
Your HIV status should not detract from the need for life cover. In fact being HIV positive should highlight the urgency to have adequate life insurance. Death is a certainty for all of us but if you are HIV positive then your lifespan is often reduced. It is a harsh reality of living with the virus. You can still enjoy a good quality of life with proper treatment and management but you also need to know that your family will be well taken care of when you pass. Savings and assets is usually not enough. HIV life insurance is therefore essential.
HIV is a risk factor
In the past, most insurers were hesitant to offer life cover for HIV positive people due to the risk. This was not isolated to HIV. Even diabetics faced many of the same hardships in finding affordable life cover. Insurers would traditionally “load” the premiums, meaning that the premiums were extremely expensive for life insurance. At times people with HIV were even declined for life cover. However, HIV is a reality that insurers could not ignore in a country where the disease is rife.
A select few insurers were bold and farsighted to offer HIV life insurance at relatively affordable rates. However, this has changed in recent years and life cover is available from more insurers. The fact is that HIV is an additional risk factor and significantly impacts the risk profile of the insured. Understandably insurers will have to weigh out the risk with regular monitoring of CD4 and viral load levels. In addition, there may be monitoring of your HIV management under the supervision of a medical professional.
Despite these requirements, people living with HIV can now rest assured that they have life cover. It is always advisable to secure life insurance as soon as possible as a HIV positive person. Some insurers have thresholds for CD4 and viral load levels, after which they will not sign up for a new policy. Whether you are securing the financial future of your loved ones or need life cover to secure a home loan, HIV life insurance can ensure that you have adequate protection despite your status.
