A.I.D.S. answers for insurance?

Press, 23 January 1988, Page 38

A.I.D.S. answers for insurance?

PA Wellington The life insurance industry will discuss the merit of standardising questions on proposal forms relating to A.I.D.S. Mr Barry Bryant, the Life Offices’ Association’s executive director, said the association had been carefully monitoring what was being done overseas. A working party would meet before the end of the month to consider whether there would be “any sense or value” in standardising questions amongst all companies to avoid any prejudice. Mr Bryant said he did not know of any formal cases in New Zealand of claims being made for a death from A.I.D.S. He

had heard of one death which was probably A.1.D.5.-related which had been dealt with under an ordinary life policy. He said the industry had no plans yet to follow Australian moves and ask four direct lifestyle-re-lated questions. Applicants who answered yes to any of the questions would be asked to take a blood test to check for A.I.D.S. antibodies. At present, only medi-cal-type questions are asked on New Zealand proposal forms, but as the disease became more significant this could be reviewed. Mr Bryant said the association might begin to collect statistics on

A.1.D.5.-related claims. The Australian life insurance industry had paid more than $6 million for 85 A.1.D.5.-related death claims and 62 disability claims last November. The incidence of the disease in New Zealand had not been “tremendously great,” but cases were escalating throughout the world and the insurance industry was concerned.

He said that if the working party recommended that proposal form questions relating to A.I.D.S. should be standardised then discussions would be held with the A.I.D.S. Foundation and other groups to reach the “right conclusions.”