The only gay and lesbian insurer in the UK market has unveiled its latest product – bespoke travel insurance for the LGBT community.
Emerald Life launched the newest offering after its own research discovered that only one in three members of the LGBT community who go overseas buy travel insurance, according to company chairman Steve Wardlaw.
As reported by Gay Star News, the insurance firm revealed that some members of the LGBT community refuse to get insurance policies because they do not trust travel insurers.
Another reason is clients’ wariness about having to discuss LGBT-related matters with the insurance firm’s staff over the phone, the report said.
Emerald Life’s travel insurance product will not automatically impose additional charges on clients who have HIV.
The product includes cover for same-sex parents and fostered and adopted children.
It also features a 24-hour helpline if clients are detained, arrested or assaulted abroad because of their sexuality.
Wardlaw noted that the insurance industry had been so slow in producing travel insurance products for the LGBT community.
“There doesn’t seem to have been a willingness in the industry to revise their data. There have been similar conversations going on with diabetes campaigners – it suits the industry to drag its heels,” Gay Star News quoted Wardlaw as saying.
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