California Department of Insurance
Commissioner Jones commends Prudential Insurance Company of America for making life insurance available for people with HIV
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, who regulates the largest insurance market in the United States, today commended Prudential Insurance Company of America for being the first major insurer to offer individual life insurance to people with HIV:
“Prudential’s decision to provide individual life insurance to people with HIV is a historic and significant step in making sure everyone has access to insurance products that meet their needs, even people living with serious illnesses. Given the advances made in medical treatment and the fact that people with HIV are living longer and fuller lives, acknowledging that HIV is a chronic but manageable condition is the right thing to do. Millions of people living with serious chronic illnesses, such as HIV, need the ability to purchase life insurance to provide for their loved ones. Prudential and its partner Aequalis are to be commended for making life insurance coverage available to HIV patients. Prudential’s offering of life insurance to people with HIV furthers our mission at the California Department of Insurance which is Insurance Protection for all Californians. As the regulator of the largest insurance market in the United States, I ask other life insurers in our market to follow Prudential’s leadership and offer life insurance to people with HIV.”
01 December 2015
ÆQUALIS and Prudential join forces to make life insurance available to people who are living with HIV
December 1, 2015, New York, NY — Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) and ÆQUALIS, an innovative company bringing insurance products to under-served communities, have joined forces to make life insurance coverage available to people who are living with HIV, provided they meet the underwriting qualifications. Representing a milestone in the changing nature of the HIV infection, people living with HIV may now be eligible to obtain 10- and 15-year individual convertible term life insurance products, offered through Prudential’s issuing insurance companies.
“As medical technology advances, we continuously evaluate and update our underwriting criteria, which has resulted in our ability to offer insurance to people dealing with various medical or chronic conditions,” said Mike McFarland, chief underwriting officer, Prudential Individual Life Insurance. “With advances in the successful treatment of people with HIV, we are now able to offer this population the opportunity to apply for life insurance – a milestone we see as a significant step in the right direction.”
ÆQUALIS is providing consumers with direct access to information about the insurance products that are available and managing the process of applying for a policy. They are also working with financial professionals and other major insurance agencies and distributors to raise awareness and manage the application process.
ÆQUALIS’ founders, Andrew Terrell and Bill Grant, have both been deeply affected by the challenges experienced by close family and friends who were or are living with HIV. Like so many others, they lost people they loved and watched as others lived long enough to benefit from new treatments. These personal experiences are what motivated Grant and Terrell to form ÆQUALIS in 2010 and work with the financial services and insurance industries to drive change.
“ÆQUALIS’ story is personal and a unique one of compassion, perseverance and determination,” said Bill Grant, who along with co-founder Andrew Terrell, has been a driving force in providing more data and information to the insurance industry to help them offer insurance coverage to people living with HIV. “The ability to help people provide security for loved ones, family members and business partners is a gratifying result,” said Grant.
“Our relationship with ÆQUALIS is another way we are extending our reach into underserved markets,” said McFarland. “We’re passionate about our efforts to offer this community a way to help achieve their financial goals through the protection life insurance offers.”
To learn more or access the application go to http://myaequalis.com.
ÆQUALIS is a dynamic company whose primary focus is eliminating barriers and creating an equal playing field by offering financial solutions for people living with HIV. ÆQUALIS is working with the insurance industry to help their efforts to enhance their underwriting criteria and reach underserved markets including those who are living with HIV. The ÆQUALIS Foundation is being developed and will be operational in 2016, to address the continued challenges people with HIV face and to collaborate with organizations that directly benefit LGBT youth and people living with HIV.
Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudential’s diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management. In the U.S., Prudential’s iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit http://www.news.prudential.com.
ÆQUALIS is an independent organization and is not an affiliate of Prudential Financial. ÆQUALIS sells and/or distributes life insurance products of Prudential Financial’s affiliated life insurance companies in addition to other life insurance company products and sells and/or provides brokerage general agency services for many of these insurers.
Life insurance is issued by The Prudential Insurance Company of America, Pruco Life Insurance Company (except in NY and/or NJ), and Pruco Life Insurance Company of New Jersey (in NY and/or NJ). All are Prudential Financial companies located in Newark, NJ. Prudential, the Prudential logo and the Rock symbol are service marks of Prudential Financial, Inc. and its related entities.
© 2015 Prudential Financial, Inc. and its related entities.
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