<p>TORONTO – Manulife has started to offer life insurance for people who are HIV-positive, a first for a Canadian company, the insurer said Friday.</p>
<p>The company (TSX:MFC) said it made the decision after it reviewed the latest mortality and long-term survival rates of HIV-positive Canadians and gained a better perspective on individual risk profiles.</p>
<p>“Manulife was the first insurer to underwrite people with diabetes, and we are continuing in that tradition by making life insurance a possibility for the more than 75,000 Canadians who have tested HIV-positive,” Manulife Canada chief executive Marianne Harrison said.</p>
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<p>“This is the result of work completed by our research and innovation team and working closely with our colleagues in the United States at John Hancock.”</p>
<p>The company said applicants who have tested HIV-positive, are between the ages of 30 and 65, and meet certain criteria, can apply for individual life insurance for up to $2 million.</p>
<p>A revolution in drug treatments in recent years has changed an HIV-positive diagnosis from one of a quick death sentence to a chronic disease that can be managed with proper medication.</p>
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<p>A report last year by the Canadian Observational Cohort Collaboration said the overall life expectancy of Canadians undergoing antiretroviral treatment for the AIDS-causing virus had climbed to 65 years.</p>
<p>Gary Lacasse, executive director of the Canadian AIDS Society, said he wanted to see the specifics of what Manulife is offering, but called it good news.</p>
<p>“If they look at the scientific data it’s a chronic disease now,” he said. “It’s not a deadly disease.</p>
<p>“We hope that the rest of the industry will follow suit.”</p>
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