Gays face the same problems getting critical illness cover as they do with life insurance.

Critical illness cover will not cover against you developing Aids as a result of sexual contact - you will have to have been attacked by a madman wielding an HIV-positive syringe to get any of them to pay out. And even then some policies will not cover you.

Interestingly, providers can check on your Aids risk profile and find out if you are gay by asking, in the application form, if your partner falls in the homosexual category.

The query may be indirect, but as soon as the insurance company gets a sniff of an alternative sexual orientation, they follow up with a lifestyle questionnaire.

They may then follow up with a request for an HIV blood test. Those who test positive will be blacklisted by the industry.

The "no critical illness cover for gays" stand can be circumvented, even though it does not cover for Aids, with the argument that other illnesses can be triggered by the disease.