Insurers to pay in AIDS deaths

A report in Business Report says Insurance companies belonging to LOA will no longer apply the HIV and Aids exclusion clause to life and disability policies. The exclusion clause meant that no claims were paid out if a person with a life policy died of AIDS, regardless of whether their premiums were up to date. LOA CE Gerhard Joubert said although this was not binding, all LOA members had agreed to waive the exclusion. LOA represents 95% of major insurance companies in SA. The exclusion clause will be waived for all types of life and disability cover that pay lump sum benefits, including group life, credit life and funeral cover. Fatima Hassan of the AIDS Law Project said the announcement by LOA was ‘totally groundbreaking’, one of the biggest moves the life industry had ever made. Full report in Business Report