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This time last year I wrote an article about the discrimination against gay men in life and health insurance and how this would change when guidelines introduced by the Association of British Insurers were implemented. The insurance industry was given a year to bring their practices into line with the new rules and the good news is that, from 30 September this year, some of the most hated homophobic practices will disappear.
From that date, unmarried men will no longer be quizzed about their sexuality. Gay men will not automatically have to take an HIV test in order to obtain cover. Underwriters in life companies will no longer be able to issue loathsome ‘lifestyle’ questionnaires willy-nilly to florists, ballet dancers and cabin crew just because of their stereotypical assumptions about those occupations.
But the insurance companies will still be trying to identify those applicants who are (in their opinion) at a high risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. Therefore, there will be a new question which all applicants, male and female, single or married, gay or straight, will be asked. This will ask if, within the previous five years, the applicant has been exposed to the risk of HIV infection. If you answer ‘no’ to that question, that should be the end of it.
Already, there are rumblings that straight people don’t much like the idea of being quizzed about their sexual practices. Picture the scene – Mr and Mrs Newlywed arranging a mortgage in their bank manager’s office and being asked if either of them has had unsafe sex in the last five years! Poor dears – now they’ll know what gay men have been going through for decades.
So, in theory, the discrimination against gay men in the life insurance industry is over. But I do wonder. I’ve spent the last five years battling homophobic life companies and arranging policies for gay men through the more ethical insurers. Now the less ethical companies have been forced to accept the new rules but leopards don’t change their spots and it would not surprise me if some underwriters found ways of circumventing the spirit of the new guidelines. Only time will tell.
In the meantime, I’ll continue to place my clients’ business with the tried and tested companies that I’ve always used. Their premiums are competitive but may not be the cheapest available. But is price everything? I’ll also continue to advise my clients about putting policies under trust for their partners and about the implications of civil partnership. I’ll also advise on the best type of policy for their particular circumstances. Will you get all that from your local supermarket or cut-price insurance broker? I think not.
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