Thai insurance company says "Gay? No way!!"

I am not saying that it is right, but the Insurance companies have to decide their policies on risk analysis. There is little doubt in my mind that homosexuals as a group have many more partners than the average heterosexual. This puts us at more risk of HIV and suchlike. I think that homos have a shorter lifespan than hetero males. What should an insurance company do? Not ask about sexuality even if an obvious katoey applies? Spread the risk cost over everyone and risk a commercial downturn in sales?

Not long ago the British government wanted to make men and women equal in all things. The Insurance companied screamed when they wanted the same pension arrangements. But women live a lot longer than men. That's an incontrovertible fact so the Government had to back down or face massive increases in life insurance.

We do live in a real world and not an ideal one.

Perhaps someone ought to open funancial advice and insurance aimed at the gay community. Ivan Massow in the UK made millions doing just that.

As to life span, the Christian, anti-gay, Ex-gay, anti-adoption, homohater groups insist that we have shorter lifespan based on bad science and huge bias as shown in many refutations of the statistics they use to make a political, anti me and you, point.


A quick look around Sunee Plaza would quickly change their minds about queer lifespans.

[krobbie]

Mr Fong, I don't often find you funny ... but that one's pretty good.

:cheers:

krobbie

I know tons of gay guys in Thailand who have life insurance (including both bf and I). No one asks you what your sexual preference is when you're buying it, so it's probably just Natee out to make a stink. Of course, if you have a life-shortening disease, no one anywhere in the world is going to give you life insurance.

[Hmmm]

Interesting. My bf has insurance with AIA. And in case you're wondering, I can vouch for the fact that he's gay. He got the policy from a friend who works for AIA. I'd be very surprised if she didn't know he was gay, as he's out to all his 'mainstream' friends and ... well ... without being a flaming queen, he does have certain 'signs'. The reason he bought the policy ? Because his mother gets a big pay out if he dies early (of natural causes I assume).

Since most Thai health insurance policies exclude HIV-related treatment (and a swag of other common conditions that make many people sick), I wonder if life insurance policies exclude death due to AIDS-related illnesses. I wouldn't be surprised. If so, excluding gays would be ... prejudice.

'Allowing' insurance companies to exclude based on perceived future risk is the thin end of the wedge. With the growing ability to identify disease predisposition by genetic screening, companies will exclude people who will die early if the bastards can. So where do you draw the line ? Genetic predisposition to heart disease ? High blood pressure ? Cholesterol ? Bungy jumping ? Fast cars ?

So while the straight community would probably support excluding PLUs now, let's see some grossly obese Mr Middle America bleating when his insurance company refuses to renew him when it finds out he's destined to drop dead before he reaches middle age.

Death benefits apply regardless of the cause of death. Some policies have a rider stating that no benefits will be paid in the case of suicide, if it is within a certain time period after purchasing the policy.

Gay man intends to file a petition with the Administration Court accusing American International Assurance (AIA) of breaching his constitutional rights by refusing to provide life assurance for homosexuals.
The Nation
Published on November 6, 2007
Natee Teerarojjanapongs, president of the Sexual Diversity Group and the Gay Political Group of Thailand, claimed he was refused life assurance by an AIA sales agent who said the company had a policy not to provide life insurance for gays or bisexuals.
The gay rights groups yesterday sent a letter to the Office of Insurance Commission (OIC) calling for an investigation into the matter. Prasong Kittithamwongse, director of the OIC's examination and supervision office, said the office would meet senior AIA executives to investigate the accusation.
Speaking on behalf of OIC secretary-general Chantra Purnariksha, he said the office would try to seek a fair result, but he admitted that insurance companies also have a right to calculate risks....
Full article:
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/11 ... 055037.php (http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/11/06/headlines/headlines_30055037.php)

[Brad the Impala]

If this isn't AIA's policy, it would be very easy for them to issue a statement to that effect and defuse the adverse publicity.

[marc11864-old]

...that a HIV+ foreigner traveling to Thailand or elsewhere in most cases will be taking the utmost care of his or her health and would likely be less of a risk. Additionally, said person would likely also be willing to some extent to pay a slightly higher premium in order to ensure adequate health care should something untoward occur.

INSURANCE GAY RIGHTS CASE
Bangkok Post

AIA says it considers lifestyle, not sexuality POST REPORTERS

In the wake of complaints from gay activists who accuse American International Assurance (AIA) of discrimination, company executives yesterday insisted that they are open to all applications without discrimination or exemptions for any particular group of persons. ''It is the industry's common underwriting practice that every application must go through the consideration of the company's underwriters, and according to the company's underwriting statistics, up to 95% of the applications for individual insurance policies have been approved,'' said AIA senior vice-president Sutti Rajitrangson.

According to AIA executives, about 3% of the 95% approved policies are from applicants who are subject to a higher risk than the company's average requirements, and they are willing to pay an extra premium rate. Some 1.4% of rejected applications are a group exposed to high risk (such as HIV/Aids) that the company cannot afford.

In general, the company charges high-risk applicants about 0.25% more than it would other applicants if the person seeking coverage is seen as being prone to higher risk than the company's average requirements. Executives did not say if being homosexual automatically puts them at a higher risk.

''That is the common underwriting practice for AIA, which has operated in Thailand for 69 years and currently underwrites applications of more than 600,000 policies a year,'' said Mr Sutti.

AIA held a press briefing after Natee Teerarojjanapong, the president of the Gay Political Group of Thailand, accused the company on Monday of unfair discrimination based on sexual preference.

Mr Natee said his application to purchase life insurance from AIA, the country's largest life insurer, had been rejected solely because of his sexual orientation. He may bring the case to the Administrative Court.

Picha Siriyodhin, assistant director of the Thai Life Assurance Association, said insurance policies were like any signed contract that rests on a mutual agreement between buyer and seller.

By law, he said, insurers could reserve the right to evaluate policy coverage, premiums and set other conditions for clients in high-risk jobs or with high-risk lifestyles. However, Mr Picha said, the underwriting practice might not be identical for every firm.

For instance, Siam Commercial New York Life Insurance Plc (SCNYL) requires applicants to have a basic medical check-up with a mandatory HIV test. This applies to all types of policies, regardless of the amount assured.....

Full article
http://www.bangkokpost.net/Business/07Nov2007_biz39.php

Blah! blah! blah! waffle waffle. AIA need to say that not issuing policies to gays is their policy or that the incident was wrong and they apologize and it will not recur.

[jimnbkk]

Death benefits apply regardless of the cause of death. Some policies have a rider stating that no benefits will be paid in the case of suicide, if it is within a certain time period after purchasing the policy.

Hmmm. I wonder if an insurance company would consider it suicide if someone died from "HIV-related-disease" who practiced unsafe sex?

The Nation, Published on November 7, 2007

We have many gay customers: AIA
American International Assu-rance (Thailand) has denied claims that it discriminated against gays and insisted that several well-known gay men have been policyholders for years.

Sutti Rajitrangson, AIA senior vice-president for administration, said he could not name the famous gay policyholders for reasons of confidentiality.

AIA came under the spotlight this week when gay rights activist Natee Teerarojja-napongs claimed the company had refused to let him apply for a life assurance policy because he is a gay.

"I insist that AIA considers every application. We don't exclude any groups of people. We consider each person's application individually," said Sutti.

"The company never received Natee's application. Therefore, it is impossible that the company has denied him without considering his application. If anybody wants to buy insurance, they have to send us their application for consideration.

"AIA has several renowned gays as its customers. We never had a policy not to allow gays to buy our insurance."

Sutti claimed that a company official who liaises with the company's agents told Natee on Monday to send his application for consideration. Earlier, sales agent Pachara Pipatwong consulted the official because he was not sure if Natee was eligible for insurance. In the end, Natee refused to send in his application.

Natee, president of the Sexual Diversity Group and the Gay Political Group of Thailand, insisted that the official told him AIA has not sold life assurance to gays or transvestites for years. He said during a television interview that he heard Sutti's explanation via telephone and that there must have been a misunderstanding between the executive and the official.

Wannapa Phetdee

The Nation

As suspected, Natee is a big loud-mouth cry-baby.

[Brad the Impala]

As suspected, Natee is a big loud-mouth cry-baby.

No, Natee has been a gay activist and anti Aids campaigner for over twenty years. I remember being at a gay bar twenty years ago, where he and his troupe were helping to make the bar boys aware of the importance of safe sex.

Here is an article from twenty years ago, and he hasn't stopped since then!

www.newint.org/issue201/condom.htm (http://www.newint.org/issue201/condom.htm)

Looks like he accused AIA of discrimination without even putting his application in, and without researching the facts.

Uh....
Why doesn't he just go to another insurance company?

I mean aside from the fact that he's an "activist" and is trying to embarass and shake down a big insurance company.
(not to say they don't deserve it...)