The year was 1981. No one yet recognized the signs of AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), but since those early days, an estimated 70+ million have been infected with HIV globally and 35 million have died from HIV/AIDS[1].
Now for the good news: In the more than two decades since ART (Anti-Retroviral Therapy), also known as combination anti-retroviral therapy, first arrived, it has transformed HIV from a 100% fatal infection to a chronic condition. Individuals infected with HIV can now expect to live significantly longer and benefit from some of the financial protections provided by insurance.
Recently, RGA’s Dr. Dan Zimmerman spoke to the Association of Home Office Underwriters (AHOU) about the history of HIV/AIDS and insurance, and how risk modeling can reasonably conclude that some individuals with HIV can now be candidates for life insurance coverage. We sat down with Dr. Zimmerman to discuss his presentation and the paradigm shift in the availability of life insurance for people with HIV.
In the past, underwriters were actually taught very little about HIV. For many years, HIV was considered an uninsurable condition due to significant excess mortality and morbidity. Given sensitivities at the time, the underwriting of HIV-positive cases was often managed by company medical directors or other non-underwriter associates. Thus, there was little need to keep underwriters up to date with developments. It is not so much that the manuals were out of date, it’s simply that underwriters per se were not actually underwriting HIV/AIDS. Today, manuals are being updated with the new knowledge and understanding about the long-term survival potential for individuals with well-controlled HIV.
First of all, the good news is that life expectancy of individuals infected with HIV improved rapidly in the 1990s because of the incredible success of new treatments such as protease inhibitors. The projected 10% level of life insurance claims never occurred. By no means, however, does that diminish the seriousness of the infection or its impact on millions of lives. The insurance industry learned a lot during this period, realizing that completely unanticipated risks can develop. People rely on our industry for financial protection and insurers need to maintain their solvency in order to meet that obligation. Moving forward, I think a good example to follow can be found in how insurers now consider and plan for potential pandemic diseases. Insurers model for these risks, trying to anticipate the spectrum of outcomes and planning accordingly.
To be clear, the paradigm shift refers to the fact that HIV infection used to be considered an uninsurable condition across the board. Now, through a lot of evidence-based research, we know that some people with very well-controlled HIV infections and otherwise essentially good health can be offered life coverage. However, it’s important to keep in mind even those who are doing well remain at increased risk for developing a number of other health conditions, all of which can contribute to persistent excess mortality and morbidity concerns. Treatment for HIV is at a state-of-the-art level, but it does not restore the immune system completely.
PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, is a type of medication HIV-negative people who may be at increased risk of acquiring HIV can take to help reduce their risk of getting HIV. One risk, for example, might be having a partner who is known to have HIV infection. PrEP consists of two medicines combined in a single, once-a-day pill. As you mentioned, about 12.5% of people in the U.S. do not know they are infected with HIV. Thus, they could unknowingly pass it to an intimate partner. However, if someone is taking PrEP, their chances of becoming infected could be reduced by over 90%. While a vaccine would be better, these numbers are still very encouraging. It’s possible that PrEP could have a big impact on slowing the HIV epidemic and reducing the number of new infections.
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