Marginalised groups have not always had the best relationship with the financial services industry.
A lack of visible diversity and exclusions in policy wording have left some client segments doubting there were any solutions or products available to them.
This belief is underpinned by a recent investigation carried out by International Adviser, where this publication discovered that insurance companies are turning away potential customers because they have human immunodeficiency virus, commonly known as HIV.
Some have argued that these practices are a breach of equality laws in the UK, since HIV is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.
But with the industry working towards improving inclusion and diversity, with a major focus on enhancing client experiences, what can be done for marginalised groups such as HIV+ people?
To understand what the insurance profession can do, when it comes to offering services to with people with HIV, IA spoke with Matthew Connell, director of policy and public affairs at the Personal Finance Society (PFS).
Greater transparency
“People living with HIV are an already marginalised group within society and so it should be, without question, that insurance professionals do all they can to ensure they are not further marginalised by any actions they take,” Connell said.
“There is a clear need for insurers to improve the consumer experience of people living with HIV. Our colleagues at the National Aids Trust (Nat) have often spoken about how there is a widespread perception among people living with HIV that many financial products are not available to them.”
And IA’s investigation found that not only are there products that HIV+ people cannot access; some life and critical illness cover providers refuse any application from people with HIV.
That is why, Connell argues, insurance companies need to be more transparent on how they determine risk and price and cover availability for HIV+ clients, rather than keep carrying on a practice of “self-exclusion”.
He continued: “For the insurer, higher premiums may well be justified if there is higher risk involved, an expected higher value of claims, and/or a more costly and lengthy underwriting process.
“However, it is not always clear to the consumer why they have been charged the premium and whether it accurately reflects the risk they represent.”
Fewer obstacles
Greater transparency means tackling the hurdles HIV+ people face when trying to access cover as well.
As a result, people tend to turn to specialist providers that have a “better understanding of the concerns they may have around provision of information and maintaining confidentiality”, Connell added.
This is also because, often, disclosing a person’s HIV status is completely irrelevant to the application process or insurance product.
“Some firms sell travel insurance policies which automatically cover HIV and therefore don’t require HIV to be declared on any travel documents.,” he said.
“Some firms are seeking to remove medical screening entirely from travel insurance products and, instead, rely on sign-off by the applicant’s medical practitioner.
“This could be a particularly attractive proposal for people living with HIV, who tend to have considerably more trust in their own specialist physicians.”
Wider access to services
But with few options available, and the very strenuous search for services or companies that are compatible with their situation, Connell believes that signposting could improve HIV+ people’s experience with the insurance sector.
The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) has been working closely with the Access to Insurance Working Group by creating a ‘signposting agreement’, which was rolled out earlier in the year.
The initiative pledges to improve “access to protection for those with disabilities or medical conditions, including HIV,” Connell said.
“Our role on the board of its committee will be to monitor that this agreement is helping people locate appropriate specialist providers, with the hope of increasing the number of successful outcomes.”
Root out layers of stigma
The cultural prejudice around HIV, and the stigma attached to it, is another issue the insurance sector must overcome.
It can intersect with other stigmas around sexuality, gender identity, race and socioeconomic status, Connell said.
The latest figures on HIV from Public Health England revealed that, in 2018, most of the HIV+ cases (50.5%) were a result of ‘sex between men’, showing a prevalence among members of the LGBT+ community.
Connell continued: “People living with HIV can experience stigma when accessing insurance, at any point throughout the consumer journey.
“To address this, insurance providers should test products and processes with focus groups of people living with HIV to ensure they are accessible, non-stigmatising, and meet their needs.
“For example, some practices within the sector can put pressure on people living with HIV to share their status when it has no relevance to their situation, and insurers should explore how this can be better addressed to avoid any unintended consequences.
“Because of the stigma attached to HIV, many people tend to have less trust in mainstream services and more trust in HIV specialist services where they feel they can be comfortable about sharing their status.”
A matter of trust
A lack of easily and widely accessible information is a contributing factor to the exclusion of HIV+ people as well.
Considering the lack of trust this already marginalised group feels towards the sector, greater access to and knowledge of inclusive firms and services is paramount.
“The National Aids Trust inform us that, when asking focus group participants where they would like to get information about HIV-inclusive financial services, many participants said they would like to get this from their HIV clinics or HIV voluntary and community organisations,” Connell said.
“A number of gay men also suggested that HIV-inclusive insurers could advertise in gay dating apps and the LGBT media as places where they might access and trust this information.
“As we look to secure the continued confidence and trust of the public, we must recognise the need to tailor our services and our communication to a variety of needs and trusted sources and ensure we remain inclusive to all.”
Lack of data not an excuse
IA’s investigation revealed that turning away a potential client because of their HIV status can be considered discrimination under UK law.
“The Equality Act 2010 states that any action taken – either increasing the price of their premiums, applying exclusions, or refusing cover entirely – must be reasonable and done by reference to information that is both relevant to the assessment of the risk to be insured and from a source upon which it is reasonable to rely,” Connell confirmed.
That is why insurers must be more transparent.
Connell believes that one way providers can achieve this is by citing recent medical studies and take individual circumstances to account to make sure that their action is, indeed, “reasonable”.
“This could demonstrate to a person living with HIV that the insurer has taken into consideration all the information available when reviewing their application and that the information is up to date,” he added.
“There is, without a doubt, a clear lack of data in some areas; for example, the justification of individual income protection being unavailable to people living with HIV is that there is little or no data on how HIV affects sickness related absence from work.
“It is therefore claimed the risk of those living with HIV in making a claim is unknown and cannot be covered.”
But the Equality Act specifies that insurers have a duty to base their decision on tangible data, and if that is not widely available or accessible, “insurance providers should conduct research and collate the data they need, otherwise they could be found to be discriminatory”.
Doing it right
Currently, there couldn’t be a greater need for the sector to work on its diversity and inclusion, both from within the profession and for the people it serves.
“So, not only is a drive to be more socially conscious and diverse in our activity contingent to building a fairer society, it’s central to building trust and therefore ensure it can serve the needs of the many,” Connell said.
“Having an open and inclusive culture within your business and personally, allows you to view your practices and the way you communicate to existing and potential clients and ensure you open to all.
“Inclusive communication can take many forms, whether it is using diverse staff teams to create marketing and external comms to different audiences, to ensuring access points to you and your services are accessible to people from different protected characteristics and socio-economic status.
He believes that, without this push, firms “will both fail to serve the needs of society and those of your own staff”.
If insurers continue to embrace this cultural change “wholeheartedly and improve on the areas protected groups identify, then without a doubt they can secure the trust and confidence of people who may have not had the best relationship or experience of financial services”, Connell added.
