The Association of British Insurers has issued a statement of best practice on HIV and insurance to be followed by insurers when underwriting applications.
Following lobbying from gay action groups, the ABI's new statement of practice effectively gets rid of personal questions asked of gay men. The ABI said that insurers should assess insurance applications fairly, taking into account the degree of risk that the applicant brings, but it also ensures that companies only ask for information that is relevant.
Our View
The new guidelines will make sure that the right questions are asked, without questioning a man's sexuality. It is all about risk and, whilst insurers will still be able to ask HIV risk based questions, they will now only be relevant to the risk posed under the policy being applied for.
The underwriting of insurance is factual, not personal.