Gay finance: Endowment mortgages

These are no longer flavour of the month because of their poor performance and high charges. Endowment mortgages are, however, still favoured by people willing to trust investment-linked products to pay off their housing loan, rather than using a repayment mortgage to repay interest and capital on the loan.

The problem is endowment policies have a life insurance element. Gay men may only be offered the repayment option by some providers.

Gay men (but not lesbians) were first shunned by endowment providers when Aids hit the headlines in the 80s. Life insurance premiums for gay men rose as life insurers' perceptions of their life expectancy fell.

As a result, some providers charge up to three times the usual life insurance rate to gay men because of this perceived risk. But because insurance only makes up a small part of the endowment policy, customers are unlikely to be asked to take an HIV test - and some may not even be asked about sexual orientation.

Jason Bell, of gay independent financial advisers Massow Financial Services, points to Scottish Widows as one of the life companies offering decent deals. Others, including Barclays Life, HSBC, Standard Life and Allied Dunbar are still dragging their heels, he says.