How to Get Life Insurance When HIV Positive

The purpose of life insurance is normally to meet one or both of two needs. First, a limited amount of insurance, also called burial insurance, can go to help your survivors meet the cost of your funeral and burial or cremation. Second, life insurance allows you to provide resources for your loved ones after you die. Life insurance is sometimes difficult to get for people who are HIV positive.

Instructions

Take Inventory of All Your Insurance Policies

• 1

  Review any existing insurance policies to see whether they include life insurance policies or riders. These may include policies you have through your employment or policies associated with a mortgage on your home.

• 2

  Do everything possible to maintain and hold these policies as they may be very difficult to replace if they lapse.

• 3

  Review your potential death benefit available through Social Security and make sure that it will be available to your loved ones.

• 4

  Meet with an attorney to handle any questions that may arise concerning the designation of beneficiaries for your life insurance and death benefit coverage.

Get Life Insurance When Employed

• 5

  Speak to the human resources staff of your current or prospective employer to find out about any life insurance coverage that may be available to you as an employment benefit. Many employers include an automatic life insurance policy up to a certain percentage of an employee's wages on a group basis without underwriting or any qualifying process.

• 6

  Consider choosing an employer for your next job on the basis of the life insurance coverage that would be provided to you.

Get Life Insurance Directly When HIV Positive

• 7

  Speak to your HIV AIDS case worker about your desire to obtain life insurance and ask for information on any programs that may be available. Some life insurance companies have begun offering life insurance to people who are HIV positive in response to the increasing effectiveness of AIDS medication regimens in extending the lives of HIV-positive individuals.

• 8

  Visit the Guaranteed Life Insurance Company website to review their policy offerings (see Resources below). This company has received favorable coverage in the "New York Times" and elsewhere concerning life insurance offerings that are available to people who are HIV positive.