Researching your ancestry?: Genetic testing, life insurance and discrimination

Adam Hamilton; Tania Leiman

Researching your ancestry? Genetic testing, life insurance and discrimination

Adam Hamilton
, Tania Leiman

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

Abstract

Insurers are increasingly moving towards business models that adjust premiums
for life insurance in light of a more detailed assessment of future risk, including using genetic test results. Applicants for life insurance should be aware of the potential disclosure requirements of genetic test results. Where those results suggest an individual’s genetic ‘makeup’ indicates an increased predisposition to developing a particular disease, such as breast cancer or diabetes, insurers may increase premiums or even refuse life insurance cover. Insurers seek this granular genetic data on the basis that it is a more reliable predictor of future risk than broad assumptions about an individual based on their lifestyle choices. However, this ‘differential treatment of asymptomatic
individuals or their relatives on the basis of their actual or presumed genetic
characteristics’ effectively amounts to genetic discrimination.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	25-27
Number of pages	3
Journal	The Bulletin SA (Law Society of South Australia)
Volume	42
Issue number	10
Publication status	Published - 3 Nov 2020

Keywords

life insurance
Ancestry
Genetic testing
genetic data

Access to Document

https://issuu.com/lawsocietysa/docs/lsb_20november_202020_20f_20hr?fr=sYmIyYjIwMjY3NDY

Cite this

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title = "Researching your ancestry?: Genetic testing, life insurance and discrimination",

abstract = "Insurers are increasingly moving towards business models that adjust premiums for life insurance in light of a more detailed assessment of future risk, including using genetic test results. Applicants for life insurance should be aware of the potential disclosure requirements of genetic test results. Where those results suggest an individual{\textquoteright}s genetic {\textquoteleft}makeup{\textquoteright} indicates an increased predisposition to developing a particular disease, such as breast cancer or diabetes, insurers may increase premiums or even refuse life insurance cover. Insurers seek this granular genetic data on the basis that it is a more reliable predictor of future risk than broad assumptions about an individual based on their lifestyle choices. However, this {\textquoteleft}differential treatment of asymptomatic individuals or their relatives on the basis of their actual or presumed genetic characteristics{\textquoteright} effectively amounts to genetic discrimination.",

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AU - Leiman, Tania

PY - 2020/11/3

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N2 - Insurers are increasingly moving towards business models that adjust premiums for life insurance in light of a more detailed assessment of future risk, including using genetic test results. Applicants for life insurance should be aware of the potential disclosure requirements of genetic test results. Where those results suggest an individual’s genetic ‘makeup’ indicates an increased predisposition to developing a particular disease, such as breast cancer or diabetes, insurers may increase premiums or even refuse life insurance cover. Insurers seek this granular genetic data on the basis that it is a more reliable predictor of future risk than broad assumptions about an individual based on their lifestyle choices. However, this ‘differential treatment of asymptomatic individuals or their relatives on the basis of their actual or presumed genetic characteristics’ effectively amounts to genetic discrimination.

AB - Insurers are increasingly moving towards business models that adjust premiums for life insurance in light of a more detailed assessment of future risk, including using genetic test results. Applicants for life insurance should be aware of the potential disclosure requirements of genetic test results. Where those results suggest an individual’s genetic ‘makeup’ indicates an increased predisposition to developing a particular disease, such as breast cancer or diabetes, insurers may increase premiums or even refuse life insurance cover. Insurers seek this granular genetic data on the basis that it is a more reliable predictor of future risk than broad assumptions about an individual based on their lifestyle choices. However, this ‘differential treatment of asymptomatic individuals or their relatives on the basis of their actual or presumed genetic characteristics’ effectively amounts to genetic discrimination.

KW - life insurance

KW - Ancestry

KW - Genetic testing

KW - genetic data

M3 - Article

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JO - The Bulletin SA (Law Society of South Australia)

JF - The Bulletin SA (Law Society of South Australia)

IS - 10

ER -

Researching your ancestry? Genetic testing, life insurance and discrimination

Abstract

Keywords

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