AIDS exclusion clause amended by life insurers

South Africa's Life Offices Association (LOA), which represents major life assurance firms, announced on Monday that HIV-positive people would no longer be refused cover. The South African Associated Press quoted LOA director Gerhard Joubert as saying: "This is a significant step for the industry; this will mean that HIV is treated no differently from any other medical condition in the underwriting process." Joubert said although some members had already decided to remove the clauses, from 1 January 2005 it would be mandatory for all members. The LOA amended its existing HIV testing protocol to disallow the use of exclusion clauses for new business at a recent annual general meeting.