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This year, I’ve been spending more energy on sex work advocacy. Time and time again, financial exclusion comes up as the issue that resonates with me most deeply. This the first in a series of stories focused on financial equality for sex workers, asking what we can do right now, and what we are working towards.
Sex workers are excluded from most financial products. We know from studies that there’s a feeling of resignation around financial services and with constant debanking, product exclusion and frozen or stolen earnings, it’s easy to see why. But there was one product I was able to easily apply for and subsequently receive whilst being truthful about my job, and I hope you can do the same. That particular product was life insurance.
Why I Got Life Insurance… And How A Broker Made It Possible
The way I like to think about it is that I’m putting aside a reasonable amount every month to ensure that if the worst happened, my loved ones would be taken care of. It’s a very personal choice, with a lot of contributing factors. If you have family or friends you want to support, it’s particularly worth it. It is all about making provisions for the future. In the case of my passing, having life insurance means that my family will receive financial support that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.
To acquire life insurance, I worked with a broker. Their job is to liaise a deal between a buyer and the various sellers available. In the case of sex workers, I will always recommend working with a broker over doing your own research. Brokers are sorting through companies on our behalf, tailored to our needs. In practice, this meant that I didn’t have to hear a single rejection based off of my profession – my broker only spoke to companies who were happy to provide insurance to sex workers in the first place.
Paper Trail
Something that was important for me was ensuring that I had a paper trail of my job description upfront. My concern was that a company would refuse to pay out on sex worker grounds, even if they were fully informed when I applied.
Unfortunately, if you were to go to my insurance company, you would find that on their paperwork I am listed under the vague title of entertainer. I assume it’s a fault of technology, where a company is reliant on a program with too few dropdown options. It’s not ideal, but I have proof I had applied as a sex worker. I know that my brokers relayed it, and the underwriters (that is, the people calculating the claims) acknowleged it. If there are future problems, my loved ones can turn to the paper trail kept amongst the insurance documents.
Tell The Truth
Applying for life insurance can feel incredibly vulnerable. A full medical history is required, and you will be asked innumerable questions about lifestyle choices such as alcohol and drug use. It’s important to tell the truth to your broker. The consequence of falsifying the truth on your application is your loved ones not being able to receive your claim. As such, I implore you to answer all questions honestly.
My work didn’t seem to be considered a particularly big deal during my application. I was treated without judgement and as fairly as any other customer. If you find your broker is treating you with judgement, it’s worth finding another. There are plenty of brokers out there, all negotiating with the same insurance companies.
I do not feel that my job unfairly impacted my monthly cost, if it impacted it at all. The company were much more interested in my mental health history, which did cause my rate to increase. In the end, even though my premium had risen, it was still an amount I was willing to pay.
Summary, and A Recommendation
To summarise, I think life insurance is an achievable goal for sex workers. Go through a broker, be upfront and honest and they will work with you to get the cover you’re looking for. The more sex workers who enter into financial services, the closer we get to financial equality.
Since they had been so lovely and easy to work with, I wanted to take some time to recommend the broker who handled my case, Megan Hammond from The Insurance Surgery. She was helpful, communicative, and treated my profession as any other. If you’re looking for an insurance broker, why not start there?
If you are looking to learn more about sex workers and finanacial exclusion, the best place to start is Payment Rejected: Financial Discrimination Against Sex Workers In The UK by the sex worker charity National Ugly Mugs. It’s informative and well researched, so I’d highly recommended this read.