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March 18, 2010

Report: Insurance Company Had Policy Targeting HIV-Positive Policyholders
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The Reuters news agency is reporting the insurance company formerly
known as Fortis had a specific policy automatically targeting
policyholders with HIV. The company, now known as Assurant Health,
established a computer program and algorithm that subjected every
HIV-positive policyholder to an automatic fraud investigation. The
so-called “investigations” were used to revoke the policyholders’
insurance, often on wrong information, flimsy evidence, or no evidence
at all. Last year, the South Carolina state Supreme Court ordered Fortis
to pay $10 million in damages for rescinding the health coverage of a
policyholder who had tested positive for HIV.



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