Gay Life Assurance, Gay Life Insurance and Gay Mortgage Blog

Our Friends at Compass have recently published the results of their latest research into the Mortgage and Insurance needs of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Communities …

They are the UK’s leading financial advisers on LGBT issues surrounding Gay Mortgages, Gay Life Assurance, Gay Life Insurance, Gay Critical Illness Cover, Gay Income Protection, HIV Life Assurance and HIV Life Insurance …

Here’s their recent press release titled “Gay Insurance Survey 2014” …

Compass, the gay insurance advisers have today published their latest research into the insurance needs of gay men and women. For the first time ever the survey has focused on the reasons that gay men and women take out Life Insurance or Life Assurance, along with the percentage protecting themselves against Critical Illness.

The research shows that, 74% of gay men and women take out Life Insurance to protect their home or mortgage, with the remaining 26%* taking out Life Insurance to provide protection for either a child or a partner. The results are remarkable when considering how difficult the housing market has been over the last few years.

Chris Morgan the Marketing Manager at Compass Mortgage and Insurance Services said …

‘This year we decided to do something different for the Gay Insurance Survey to highlight the importance of protecting a person’s home and mortgage. We were very surprised that the percentage of people taking Mortgage Life Assurance is so high considering the housing market has been so difficult over the last few years’.

Chris continued …

‘We hope that by highlighting this research we can encourage more people within the Gay and Lesbian community to protect their mortgage and homes with Life Assurance and to also encourage people to consider protecting their mortgages against the effects of serious illness with Critical Illness Cover’.

This latest Compass survey also established that 26% of gay men and women are taking out Critical Illness Cover, which is an improvement on last year’s percentage of 19%. Last year’s survey established that the average Critical Illness Policy being taken out by the Gay and Lesbian community was £182,477.

If you require more information on Gay Life Assurance, Gay Life Insurance, Gay Mortgages & HIV Life Assurance, HIV  Life Insurance, HIV Mortgages you can contact our sponsors Compass Mortgage & Insurance Services on 0845 474 3075, or email at Enquiries@compassindependent.co.uk or on the web at www.compassindependent.co.uk

Our sponsors … Compass are the UK’s leading experts at finding Mortgages for Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Transgender and HIV communities.

We  offer services that are specifically designed for LGBT and HIV Positive people that avoid the personal questions that are sometimes associated alongside taking Mortgages and Insurances. Our experience of looking after LGBT and HIV Positive people dates back some 15 years in regards to offering Mortgage Advice.

The most popular question that people ask us when taking out a new Mortgage is simply

… How Much Can I Borrow?

There have been so many changes to the way that Mortgages are agreed recently it has created a lot of confusion. It was not so long ago that people could “self-certify” their income and a Mortgage lender would take their word for the amount that they earned in income, without seeing any hard evidence.

This has now completely changed so here’s some advice for people who are now looking to take out a Mortgage.

1) You will now be required to prove your income before a lender agrees a Mortgage. It is advisable to have your last three months payslips handy if you are an employee and your last two year’s accounts / tax returns to hand if you are self -employed before speaking to a Mortgage Adviser.

2) Lenders also require you to have a cash deposit to place against the property as security. Most lenders will require at least 5% of the purchase price, but some require up to 10% , or even 15% of the purchase price before agreeing a Mortgage. Mortgage lenders offer better interest rates for those placing bigger deposits as security.

3) Mortgage lenders have completely changed the way that they calculate the amount that they will lend to you. In the past they offered set multipliers of your income. Now, they look very closely at your past credit record and contractual outgoings  like existing loans and credit cards before making their final calculations.

4) Lenders will even look at your regular bills like gas, electricity, water, phone bill before calculating the amount of Mortgage they will offer you. This new detailed process has created a lot of confusion and sometimes frustration for people trying to take out a new Mortgage.

Unusual Risks are constantly in discussions with Mortgage lenders about their changing criteria and are experts at maximising the amounts that clients can borrow from lenders. We offer completely “Independent” Mortgage Advice in return for “Set Fees”, which means you don’t have all of the worry about finding the right lender for your needs.

If you are having trouble finding the right Mortgage then why not give us a call?

If you require more information on Gay Mortgages, Gay Life Assurance, Gay Life Insurance, Gay Mortgages & HIV Mortgages, HIV Life Assurance, HIV  Life Insurance  you can contact our sponsors Compass Mortgage & Insurance Services on 0845 474 3075, or email at Enquiries@compassindependent.co.uk or on the web at www.compassindependent.co.uk

Our Sponsors Compass are experts at finding Life Assurance and Life Insurance for both HIV Negative and HIV Positive Gay Men and Women.

Here’s some news from their friends at Unusual Risks.

Unusual Risks, the medical financial advisers are today announcing the results of their latest HIV Life Assurance research. After conducting the most extensive survey ever into the financial needs of the HIV community, they can now confirm that 23% of HIV Positive people now have some form of Life Assurance policy.

This figure compares favourably with research that was conducted during 2011 showing that 82% of HIV People had no Life Assurance whatsoever. Also within this more detailed survey Unusual Risks has established that 42% of those insured had taken their policy before the introduction of HIV life Assurance in 2009 and 58% had taken their policy after this date.

In their latest survey Unusual Risks have looked into the financial needs of the HIV community in greater detail, with a focus not only on the headline figure of people holding insurance, but also looking at when they took out their insurance policy. This was to highlight to people that are newly diagnosed they should always check if they are still covered on their existing policies before cancelling any taken before May 2009.

Chris Morgan, Compass and Unusual Risks have been helping people living with HIV to find the best Mortgage and Life Assurance for their needs for the last fifteen years. In the next few months they will be releasing further detailed research into the reasons that HIV+ people take insurance and the other types of insurance HIV+ people are likely to be interested in if they were to become available in the market place.

If you require more information on Gay Life Assurance, Gay Life Insurance, Gay Mortgages & HIV Life Assurance, HIV  Life Insurance, HIV Mortgages you can contact Compass Mortgage & Insurance Services on 0845 474 3075, or email at Enquiries@compassindependent.co.uk or on the web at www.compassindependent.co.uk

In the first of a new series of mini articles our sponsors lead financial adviser, Chris Morgan shares some of the themes that have been emerging since changes to Gay Life Insurance and the introduction of HIV Life Insurance and HIV Life Assurance products in the UK …

Where Can I Find Gay Life Assurance or Gay Life Insurance?

When I started campaigning on HIV issues more than 15 years ago, it was my dream that Lesbian and Gay people and those living with HIV would be able to access Life Assurance and Mortgage products in the same way as any other community and that they would not feel excluded or discriminated against.

Things have changed so much recently that we’ve been getting many enquiries for Life Insurance and Life Assurance from people who are being offered Insurance by their own bank. People are coming to us after being offered Life Insurance or Life Assurance by there bank and being asked questions about their sexuality or their health status.

Times have changed dramatically in a relatively short space of time on these issues, which has meant that Gay people and those living with HIV are now facing new challenges when interacting with their bank. We are receiving calls every single week from people not wishing to answer questions from their bank.

If you are asked about your Sexuality or your HIV status by your bank when taking a Mortgage or Insurance and you are not comfortable with sharing this information then you should seek independent financial advice. Compass are specialists at finding Life Assurance and Mortgages for Gay people and also those living with HIV.

If you require more information on Gay Life Assurance, Gay Life Insurance, Gay Mortgages & HIV Life Assurance, HIV  Life Insurance, HIV Mortgages you can contact our sponsors Compass Mortgage & Insurance Services on 0845 474 3075, or email at Enquiries@compassindependent.co.uk or on the web at www.compassindependent.co.uk

Although our sponsor Compass are best known for their groundbreaking work around Gay Life Assurance and Gay Life Insurance they also happen to be the leading provider of Mortgage Advice to the Lesbian and Gay Communities. They have been offering mortgage advice to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender people for over 14 years and have specifically designed their service to help LGBT  people to buy a home.

The fact that the Compass Mortgage Service has existed for so long means that literally hundreds of LGBT people have not had to worry about disclosing their sexuality or health status to their bank or building society when arranging a mortgage. Those who have not been able to obtain Life Insurance / Life Assurance due to their health have been able to arrange a mortgage without the need for compulsory insurance cover.

Compass have agencies with all of the major mortgage lenders and offer “Independent” Mortgage advice on a “Set Fee” basis, which means you can be assured that the advice you receive is impartial from the agenda of the major banks and building societies. Why not speak to the Compass team today to find out how our “Set Fee” Mortgage Service works for LGBT people or those living with either HIV or Hepatitis C.

If you require more information on Gay Mortgages, Gay Life Assurance, Gay Life Insurance & HIV Mortgages, HIV Life Assurance, HIV  Life Insurance you can contact our sponsor Compass Mortgage & Insurance Services on 0845 474 3075, or email at Enquiries@compassindependent.co.uk or on the web at www.compassindependent.co.uk

Pink Finance would like to wish all of our readers, friends, partners and associates a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year …

We would like to take the opportunity thank you all your support throughout 2013 and  to say that we aim to continue to grow within the LGBT communities in 2014.

We are already preparing excellent new features, products and research for the coming year, so watch this space for regular news and updates on Gay Life Assurance, Gay Life Insurance, Gay Mortgages, HIV Life Assurance, HIV Life Insurance and HIV Mortgages.

If you require more information on Gay Life Assurance, Gay Life Insurance & HIV Life Assurance, HIV  Life Insurance you can contact our sponsors Compass Mortgage & Insurance Services on 0845 474 3075, or email at Enquiries@compassindependent.co.uk or on the web at www.compassindependent.co.uk

Our sponsors Compass regularly produce gay finance news and features for national gay press and magazines …

They normally feature “Real life Case Examples” of LGBT people who have taken out Life Insurance or Mortgages recently and offer advice for those looking for the right Life Assurance or Mortgage.

In one the most recent editions they featured a couple who had taken out their Life Assurance at the height of discrimination towards gay men by the Life Assurance Industry.

Here’s an extract from this latest column …

“Compass were recently approached by a couple who bought their existing life assurance back in 2004”.

“This was at the height of discrimination towards gay men on Life Assurance applications and therefore resulted in them both having several smaller Life Assurance policies. Although this was the best thing to do back In 2004, the landscape has completely changed since then, with gay couples now being able to obtain larger policies without any HIV testing.”

“Simon and James both had two existing policies each, meaning that they had four direct debits going out of their bank accounts. They approached us after seeing a previous news story pointing out gay men can now obtain joint life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection policies up to £1,000,000 without being asked for a compulsory HIV test”.

Compass are experts at placing Life Assurance, Life Insurance, Critical Illness Cover, Income Protection and Mortgages for LGBT people, without the fear of discrmination. They regularly place insurance cover and mortgages for people without the need for compulsary HIV Testing.

If you require more information on Gay Life Assurance, Gay Life Insurance & HIV Life Assurance, HIV  Life Insurance you can contact our sponsors Compass Mortgage & Insurance Services on 0845 474 3075, or email at Enquiries@compassindependent.co.uk or on the web at www.compassindependent.co.uk

News from our friends at Compass …

The charity NAM / Aidsmap have recently featured Compass on their blog and website, giving thanks for our support and the donations we have made over the last year.

Compass make a donation to NAM / AIDSMAP when we arrange HIV Life Assurance, HIV Life Insurance and HIV Mortgage on behalf of our clients.

Here’s an extract from the article that appeared on their website …

As part of their business, they have a Charity Donation Scheme, and for every HIV-related insurance product they sell they make a donation to NAM, or an HIV charity of their customer’s choice. For NAM the benefits of having like-minded businesses support our work are obvious:

Chris Morgan, Practice Manager, Comass Says:

“As I was building the Compass business, I knew I wanted to establish sustainable links with a small number of charities who were closely aligned to our aim of creating a business that helped marginalised groups access insurance products. As well as NAM, we also support the Hepatitis C Trust, reflecting the different communities we provide services for”.

If you require more information on Gay Life Assurance, Gay Life Insurance & HIV Life Assurance, HIV  Life Insurance you can contact our sponsors Compass Mortgage & Insurance Services on 0845 474 3075, or email at enquiries@compassindependent.co.uk  or on the web at www.compassindependent.co.uk

Our sponors Compass are experts at finding Life Assurance and Life Insurance for both HIV Negative and HIV Positive Gay Men and Women.

Here’s some news from their friends at Unusual Risks.

Unusual Risks, the medical financial advisers are today announcing the results of their HIV Life Assurance Survey 2013. After contacting all of the major Life Assurance providers in the UK, they can now report that 70% of insurers servicing Independent brokers are now offering some form of HIV Life Assurance.

This is the third year that Unusual Risks have surveyed the availability of HIV Life Assurance, with the earliest survey result in 2011 indicating only 50% of insurance providers were offering any form of HIV Life Assurance. Over the last two years there have been great improvements to the availability of Insurance products to the HIV+ community.

During the 2013 survey Unusual Risks decided to revisit our research around service standards and application times for HIV Life Assurance applications. We discovered that the majority of providers had in fact improved their service times, with the most of HIV Life Assurance applications now being processed at between 4 and 12 weeks.

If you require more information on Gay Life Assurance, Gay Life Insurance & HIV Life Assurance, HIV  Life Insurance you can contact our sponors Compass Mortgage & Insurance Services on 0845 474 3075, or email at Enquiries@compassindependent.co.uk or on the web at www.compassindependent.co.uk

Although our friends Compass are most famous for their groundbreaking work around insurance matters for gay men and women, they also have been known to arrange the odd mortgage and remortgage for their LGBT clients. Although the mortgage market has been very difficult since the banking crisis, we are now starting to see some early signs of recovery.

We thought it would be appropriate time to remind you that we are still here offering independent mortgage advice for those who are looking to either change their mortgage, or move home.

Here’s a brief summary of some of the things happening in the mortgage and remortgage market.

The government has recently announced the “Help to Buy Scheme” that will allow both first time buyers and existing home owners to take mortgages with only 5% and 10% deposits in 2014. This should give a boost to the housing market next spring and start the wheels moving again for people who are looking to move into to their next property.

Some of the requirements of the scheme mean that any applicants MUST have a good credit record, without any adverse credit such as county court judgements, arrears or defaults and also MUST be able to prove their income with either current payslips for employees or tax returns for the self-employed.

Mortgage lending is now calculated is a completely different way than before the banking crisis and Compass are currently helping a number of their existing clients work out their borrowing needs.They still offer mortgage advice on “Set Fee” basis meaning that you receive completely impartial advice independent from your bank or building society.

If you require more information on Gay, Lesbian, Bi Sexual or Transgender Mortgages  you can contact our sponsors Compass Mortgage & Insurance Services on 0845 474 3075, or by email at Enquiries@compassindependent.co.uk or on the web at www.compassindependent.co.uk