Life Insurance And Co Morbidity, The Joke With No Punch Line!

The joke that is HIV+ life insurance underwriting that is. I guess that would be the first joke, that there is in fact underwriting of life insurance applications for those who have HIV+ and have applied for life insurance. The second joke is that they are actually considering a serious look at it. In a serious life insurance program with serious oversight this would be known as bait and switch.

All of the companies that have involved themselves to whatever degree in the HIV market, with the exception of business life insurance through Lloyds of London, have done so tongue in cheek. There is no serious interest in becoming players in the market. There is no serious interest in serving those who have lived and fought the good fight and now, healthier now than the underwriters they are staring down, are being the underwriting equivalent of spit on.

Can you imagine the outrage if a life insurance company took this kind of stance with any other impaired risk. Let’s pretend for a moment that we aren’t talking about HIV+, but life insurance underwriting for Diabetes type 1, honestly an actuarial and mortality equivalent. Both, in the absence of control, can lead to co morbidity issues that can kill you. Both, in the company of good control and compliance are a medical non issue, with HIV likely being the better risk of the two.

Co morbidity? Simply put it means “the simultaneous presence of two chronic diseases or conditions in a patient.” In life insurance underwriting it means in a client. Honestly, to be fair, there needs to be some relationship between the two chronic issues that compound their effect or exacerbate the result of their relationship making them known in life insurance as a bad deal. What we are finding is that no such bad deal exists. Life insurance companies (loosely put) are comfortable with their due diligence being accepting the application and declining it. Sweet business. Unfortunately I’ve found in the life insurance business that the pay or comp that we receive is directly related to getting the job done and a life insurance policy in force. Am I missing something?

Bottom line. But it is what it is for now. Reminiscent of the lion in the Wizard of Oz life insurance companies that dare to roar are in fact scaring the crap out of themselves and wondering what in the devil they are doing on the yellow brick road. Will they ever break through their own fear of HIV, well controlled HIV? A disease that, at least for those with access to HAARP, is far less insidious than type 1 diabetes. If you have questions or want to have a little whine and cheese with me, call or email me directly. My name is Ed Hinerman