Summary:
You should think about getting life insurance cover if you would like to insure your income or your health in case you become very il and incapable of working – something which is particually essential for single people or those with families, together with a similar-sex partner.
There are also occasions, like purchasing a house, when life insurance might be essential.
Life insurance companies may want to know if you are gay. They will ask you to complete an application document which would require information on whether your partner is in the homosexual category.
The question may not be direct but the company will later on send out an invasive document on the way you live.
It will be wrong not to release information or to give made up details but this will only make your insurance invalid and is subsequently a very bad idea. In addition, this can make substantial difficulties when reapplying to other insurers.
Once the application form has been filled in, you might then be asked to undergo a test to discover wether you are HIV positive. There are no predetermined rules on testing and life insurance companies are fairly casual in their selection process.
If the test for HIV is positive, it would be hard to buy products associated with life insurance. Just taking the test itself can end in a refusal of cover by some insurers, even if the test is negative.
Even though you pass all the tests and blood tests satisfactorily some companies will nevertheless double or treble your monthly payments. Most insurers will be adamant that they want HIV testing for homosexual men who apply for income payment protection or critical illness cover even though neither of the policies would pay out for an Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) connected claim.
Robert Lucas, of Carvosso & Co, a financial specialist based in Brighton, says: ‘it’s distasteful knowing the insurance company can claim rights to some of your blood.” Unsurprisingly the test can be traumatic.
He suggests that you have the test on your own terms before going to an insurer. To prevent insurers having entry to parts of your medical records, a few people recommend having drug or STD treatment at private medical centres which are on hand in almost every town or city. The National Aids Helpline or the Melton Aims Trust should be able to help you find the right one.
There is currently an agreement among The ABI and The British Medical Association (BMA) whereby doctors should not be asked to provide details on Sexually Transmitted Infections and negative HIV tests. Different proposals will help to make the risk assessment assumed by insurance more up- to- date by guaranteeing that careful sexual behaviour, sooner than sexuality, is the principle.
Although it might be some months before new procedures are fully applied, gay candidates can usually nevertheless get the insurance they want even in the current system. Independent Financial Advisors, specialising in gay finance could generally find inaurance without testing and on precisely the same terms that are appropriate to gay applicants.
If you are gay and seeking cheap quotes for life insurance, shopping on-line, via MSN, Yahoo or Google could well generate some of the less expensive quotations.