Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1998. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1998. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Reuters NewMedia, Inc.; Wednesday June 3, 1:52 pm EST
Nicholas Moss
The policy, underwritten at Lloyd's of London, offers cover for gay men contracting HIV, AIDS or sexually-transmitted diseases, according to Goodfellow Rebecca Ingrams Pearson (Grip), the underwriting agency that is marketing the policy.
"I'm aiming for the male population with a high disposable income, who also have great concerns, because of fears over AIDS, for their own mortality," Simon Burgess, Grip's managing partner, told Reuters on Wednesday.
"The perception of risk is far greater than the reality which is why we ought to be (commercially) successful," he added.
Like most mortgage or income protection insurance, the Pride without Prejudice policies offer cover in the event of unemployment or disability, accident or illness.
But they omit the exclusion for AIDS, HIV or sexually-transmitted diseases that are normally written into similar policies.
"Gay men wouldn't go to mainstream insurers because of having to answer intrusive questions about their lifestyles," said Burgess.
Although the main customers are likely to be gay men, Burgess said he anticipates support from heterosexuals who might fear contracting AIDS, as well as lesbians and others who sympathise with Grip's non-discriminatory approach. The application form, printed in pink, makes no mention of sexual habits and does not require a medical examination.
Burgess said the policy was being underwritten at Lloyd's by a consortium of three syndicates, and said there was an initial premium income limit of 5 million pounds ($8.2 million).
Judy Jagmohan, a solicitor at the Terrence Higgins Trust, the HIV/AIDS campaigning organisation, said: "It's good that insurers are designing policies which include cover against the risk of contracting HIV or AIDS."
The policies will be distributed on the Internet and through brokers and independent financial representatives.
Burgess said his niche target was the "tens of millions" of homosexuals in Europe, though he will initially concentrate on an estimated 3 million homosexual men in Britain.
He said he expected policy sales to reach 50,000 within two years. ($ equals 0.611 British Pounds)
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