New study reveals little risk in insuring HIV positive patients

The Dutch Association of Insurers has announced the results of a study revealing there is little risk in providing life insurance policies to HIV patients in the Netherlands undergoing Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART).

In response to the study's findings, several of the association's members have begun offering life insurance to patients in this category. These member companies are among the first in the world to provide life insurance for HIV patients on a commercial basis.

"These findings show that someone with HIV is no more of a risk factor for insurers than someone with diabetes -- a positive first step toward increasing the insurability of HIV patients and improving the lives of untold numbers," said Eric Fischer, general manager of the Dutch Association of Insurers. "Until now, it was nearly impossible for people with this disease to obtain life insurance, which was a significant impediment to many things that most people take for granted, such as obtaining a mortgage. This unique initiative has been made possible by the close cooperation among insurers, doctors and medical researchers in Holland."

Conducted by the HIV Monitoring Foundation, Holland's national executive organization for the registration and monitoring of HIV-infected patients, the study examined the mortality of HIV patients from an insurance standpoint. The findings demonstrated that the life expectancy of people with HIV in the Netherlands has increased significantly in recent years due to the HAART program. These findings apply to patients who have successfully undergone this medical treatment in recent years, have experienced no further medical complications and have not used intravenous drugs.

Among this group, the mathematical probability of death, beyond the average mortality, due to HIV was found to be as low as one-tenth of one percent per year -- odds that put HIV patients in the same risk category as people with diabetes or a serious heart problem, and which has led members of the Dutch Association of Insurers to begin offering comparable life insurance policies to these patients.