Should genetic information be disclosed to insurers? No

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Abstract
Risk of discriminationThe central issue here is unfair discrimination. Two forms of unfair discrimination should concern us. Firstly, we have the irrational discrimination that arises from false beliefs about genetic information. The insurance industry has occasionally been guilty of this sort of discrimination, and there have been important controversies about insurance sales, underwriting, and management of claims in HIV and, subsequently, in relation to genetic information.3 4 5As with the use and abuse of genetic information in employment, it is important to note how genetic information can be misunderstood, or its importance overestimated, and therefore used in discriminatory ways that would not be justified on sound actuarial grounds.6 For instance, if a woman were to test positive for a mutation in the BRCA1 gene, a naive insurance salesperson might think that she represented a poor risk for life insurance, even though the actuarial advice might be that this made little difference to her life expectancy.7 The point is sometimes neglected in the defence of “freedom to underwrite” that what is theoretically justified may be undermined by the less than perfect behaviour of people working under pressure. The moratorium on use of genetic test information apart from in carefully regulated exceptions may not be justified on actuarial grounds, but it can be justified on the grounds of protecting consumers from irrational discrimination.