A matter of fairness – Increasing the insurability of HIV
22 May 12
Life insurance thrives on data. In countries with abundant HIV data – typically those with higher HIV rates – insurance has been available to HIV sufferers for some time. As more data is collected, with re/insurers often at the forefront of studies, coverage for those with HIV is being extended across the world.
In 2003, the landmark study, Mortality in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study (SHCS) and the Swiss general population, was published in respected medical journal The Lancet. Christian Jaggy, now Head of Sales with Elips Life AG, was one of the lead authors of the report. At that time he was with Swiss Re as a project manager for portfolio analyses in its Life & Health Division (L&H). That study has now being updated using an expanded subject population tracking longer follow-up periods. Wayne Dam, Senior Products Actuary, at Swiss Re is in the lead for the current study.
The two study authors have very different perspectives on HIV. Wayne Dam is South African, where HIV has been part of a life insurance company’s daily business for many years. This has not been the case in most other insurance markets, as Christian Jaggy makes clear. In recent interviews, both experts provide insight into Swiss Re’s efforts to extend the boundaries of insurance and provide life insurance for persons with HIV.
