You know how a life insurance policy can save the lives of your near and dear ones by making them financially secure even after you are gone. The death benefits not only help your relatives deal with the final costs but can also support your family with their expenses after they don’t have the support of your income. Things are different though, for people who are tested HIV positive. The increased death expectancy due to infections resulting from AIDS makes them a high risk factor than someone who’s HIV negative. This in turn would make an HIV positive uninsurable for most of the companies.
So, what if you are HIV positive and still don’t have a life insurance, but more than willing to take one?
The answer is you can get a life insurance policy even if you are HIV positive.
The contemporary medical advancements and the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), has made it possible to extend the lives of HIV positive people. Thus, now the HIV positive US residents can be relieved as a lot of insurance companies have started writing lucrative life insurance policies for them.
Insurability determining factors:
If you are HIV positive, then insurance companies take different factors into account to check your eligibility status. Your age, activity level, and ability to work are investigated and questioned on. Insurability age is set between 21 to 49 years with a limited amount of virus count. Another factor is how you contracted the virus. For example: a person who contracted the virus from intravenous drug use may be denied a policy rather than a person who contracted HIV through sexual contact or an accidental syringe use. Apart from this, the other risk determining factors like, gender, smoking history, occupation, are same as for any healthy individual. The harsh fact though is that premium costs are invariably high if you are HIV positive.
Most apt ways of getting a life insurance:
When you are HIV positive, the best way to get a life insurance policy is through your employer. Consider group insurance plans, as they don’t take your medical conditions for eligibility. If you are a part of a professional group or trade organization or unions, then you may get into a group life insurance plan under it.
If you can’t get under a group insurance plan, don’t be anxious. You may get an individual life insurance policy with some extra investigations. You can get a simplified issue insurance policy with a limited face value. The guaranteed issue insurance can also be purchased which does not require health exams. There are also companies offering whole life policies, but those can be very expensive.
You can get the help of an HIV AIDS case worker to help you locate the insurance companies offering life insurance programs specially designed for HIV positive people.
Apart from these options, you may also choose to take a policy that will cover only final expenses. There are companies that issue policies even to a terminally ill person without any medical exams. However, these policies come with an extra cost.
Things to be kept in mind:
* Check the policy you are taking out and read all the clauses carefully to know you and your family are really covered.
* Premium rates will be high in your case, being HIV positive. So, choose a policy or program which you can afford.
* Check for the waiting period within which no benefits can be obtained. HIV positive individuals may be sold policies with a higher waiting period.
* If you have any type of life insurance policy previous to your HIV positive condition, then ensure not to let it lapse in any condition.
So, if you are HIV positive, don’t lose hope. Look around in proper places to find a life insurance policy that will benefit your loved ones, and protect them from a grave financial condition.Blog Category