8th April 2004
Leading group income protection (GIP) provider, UnumProvident, will become the first and only GIP insurer to provide exclusion-free contracts as standard when it removes the HIV/AIDS exclusion on its policies.Currently, incapacity arising from HIV/AIDS is excluded and customers can elect to remove the exclusion by paying an additional premium.
From 8th April 2004, all quotations will automatically have HIV/AIDS cover included and all existing policies will have the HIV/AIDS included at their next rate review.
Cheryl Stewart, Customer Services Director for UnumProvident, said:
Our decision to remove any automatic HIV/AIDS exclusion is a market first and exemplifies our progressive, forward-thinking stance as market leader.
The move reflects wider social and policy changes designed to stop discrimination against disabled people in the workplace such as upcoming adjustments to The Disability Discrimination Act as well as The Data Protection Act.
The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)
From October 2004, HIV/AIDS will be deemed as a disability and therefore full protection from the DDA will be extended to individuals with HIV/AIDS. From an employer's point of view, this means that should an individual with HIV/AIDS be dismissed or discriminated against, because of a reason relating to their disability, that individual may be able to claim discrimination under the DDA.
The Data Protection Act (DPA)
One of the many rights that an individual has under the DPA is to decline consent for his or her employer to be told they have HIV/AIDS. Prior to 08/04/04, HIV/AIDS was the only policy exclusion we applied to GIP. As such, if we disclosed to the employer that a claim was declined on the basis of 'exclusion', this will have told, in effect, the employer that the individual is HIV positive or has AIDS. By removing the exclusion, UnumProvident believes it is protecting the individual's rights under the DPA.
ENDS