Protection towards PLHIV offered by a general insurance contract
The majority of Hong Kong insurance contracts clearly state that, treatment or tests that relate to AIDS or HIV are excluded from their coverage, which includes HIV treatment or any AIDS Related Complex (ARC), etc. In other words, the treatment associated with HIV would not be covered.
Situation 1:
I do not have an insurance contract at the moment.
In Hong Kong, since insurance companies do not accept applications from People Living with HIV (PLHIV) , HIV+ people cannot purchase life insurance, critical illness protection, medical insurance and hospital insurance as they require the declaration of their health condition. HIV+ people can only purchase insurance contracts which do not require the applicants to declare their health condition, such as saving insurance.
Because the life expectancy of HIV+ people who have good drug adherence and people without HIV is similar, medical care is equally important to HIV+. We recommend HIV+ to prepare their medical care instead of relying on life insurance/critical illness protection/medical insurance/hospital insurance in case of emergency.
Because the life expectancy of HIV+ people who have good drug adherence and people without HIV is similar, medical care is equally important to HIV+. We recommend HIV+ to prepare their medical care instead of relying on life insurance/critical illness protection/medical insurance/hospital insurance in case of emergency.
Situation 2:
I currently hold life, critical illness, medical, and hospital insurance policies.
If an HIV infection is diagnosed after the policy issuance and effective dates, the insurance company should not only cover the HIV-related treatment and expenses but also provide appropriate compensation for insured items unrelated to HIV, as specified in the policy terms.
Situation 3: I have a medical insurance policy.After learning that I am infected with HIV, if I do not inform the insurance company, can they refuse to cover the related medical expenses?
You should carefully read the terms of your medical insurance policy to confirm (i) whether HIV/AIDS is covered and (ii) whether you need to disclose any changes in your health status during the coverage period. Some medical insurance policies have specific clauses requiring the policyholders or insured persons to truthfully disclose any changes in health status.
Additionally, some medical insurance products on the market have conditional limitations on compensation for HIV-related medical expenses. For example, the insurance company may explicitly stipulate that if the insured person falls ill within a certain period from the policy’s effective date but cannot prove the initial infection time, the insurance company will consider the insured person to have been infected with HIV before the policy’s effective date and may refuse to cover the related medical expenses.
