Specialist adviser estimates wide gap compared to broader population

A significantly disproportionate number of HIV positive people do not have life insurance in comparison to the wider population, according to estimates published today.

A survey suggests more than 8 in 10 HIV positive people in the UK have no life cover at all, compared to around 50% of the wider population.

Of 100 HIV positive people surveyed by Unusual Risks, the financial advisers, 82% said they had no cover in place. That compares to a figure of 52% which Swiss Re estimates is the overall percentage of the population with life cover.

Chris Morgan of Unusual Risks said the responses show that the HIV community is "the most underinsured group in the UK". However, he added that the past two years has seen a "big improvement" in the approach taken by the insurance industry to HIV and more products are available than before.

The survey was carried out with readers of Baseline Magazine and the Terence Higgins Trust.