Having a life insurance policy in place can bring peace of mind to individuals who want to ensure the financial security of their loved ones even after their death. If you have been diagnosed as HIV positive and you do not already have a life insurance policy in place it can be extremely difficult to obtain one. While many insurance companies will turn you down immediately, others will offer high premium policies that will cover only the cost of your funeral.
You should check to see if you have any existing policies in place already. You may have life insurance from your employer or through your home mortgage. Check to see if any existing policies include rider policies. Your employer may have a life insurance policy that is automatically extended to you and will pay out a percentage of your wages to your beneficiaries. If you have any policies that are in effect be sure to keep them active, if they lapse you will most likely not get them back with an HIV diagnosis.
You may have social security benefits available to you and by visiting your local social security office they will be able to explain if you do and give you the amount in which will be paid. You can make any changes that are necessary concerning your beneficiaries at the office during your visit as well.
An attorney can be helpful to explain the death benefits that you have in place and to answer questions about beneficiaries and how they are to be paid after your death.
The human resources department at your job will be able to assist you with any programs or life insurance policies that they offer that may be available to you. Many employers will automatically have you insured through a group life insurance policy that pays out a certain percentage of your wages in the event of your death. These policies require no underwriting and no pre qualification. If you are not already a part of this program you can find out how to go about getting included in the policy. It is usually a very small amount paid directly from your paycheck.
If your employer does not offer this type of life insurance policy or any that you qualify for you might consider changing jobs. You could possibly be making less than you do now and might not be in your dream job but if the employer offers a life insurance policy in your employment package it could be worth the change.
An HIV AIDS case worker will be able to help you find programs that you would be qualified for if you express your desire to obtain life insurance. Many insurance companies are beginning to include policies to HIV positive people since the effectiveness of the AIDS medications are far better and create a much longer life for the individuals.
You can find guaranteed life insurance policies from companies that will insure anyone. The premiums will be much higher on this type of policy and you can expect that the pay outs will be much less. Some insurance companies will only offer burial costs at an extremely high premium for terminally ill clients such as someone who is HIV positive.
Graham McKenzie is the content syndication coordinator a leading South African Life Insurance and Life Cover portal. For more information on the different types of life insurance visit our website.
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