Unavailability of insurance for vulnerable groups

As a result of an increasing number of claims, especially those associated with disasters, insurance companies are increasingly selective in the groups to which they are prepared to offer coverage. Individuals with recent claims may find it difficult to obtain new coverage, including those who have been the victims of crimes such as burglaries. Corporations manufacturing toxic chemicals may also be refused coverage or required to negotiate separate contracts.

In Malawi, a leading insurance company withdrew from the market for life insurance when the government banned AIDS test on applicants seeking cover. Here, as across Africa, AIDS-related claims have multiplied five to twenty-five fold between the mid 1980s and early 1990s, and look rise uncontrollably through the 1990s. Adult life expectancy in sub-Saharan Africa is predicted to fall to 47 years by 2000, compared with 62 without the AIDS factor.

1. There is no point in insurance companies taking on losses that mean premiums have to go up for everyone.

1. Unethical insurance practices
2. Lack of protection for the vulnerable
3. Discrimination against the poor

1. Denial of health insurance to genetic groups
2. Denial of adequate medical care to skilled labour

1. Denial of rights to vulnerable groups

1. Social outcasts
2. Social implications of chronic terminal illness
3. Prohibitive cost of insurance
4. Lack of health insurances
5. Acquired human immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)

1. Denial of danger

1. Insuring health
2. Insuring against critical illness
3. Guaranteeing insurance provisions
4. Foetal protection strategies