Genetics and life insurance : medical underwriting and social policy

Insurance companies routinely use an individual's medical history and family medical history in determining eligibility for life insurance; this is part of the process of medical underwriting.

Insurers have also long used genetic information, often derived from family history in underwriting.

But rapid advances in gene identification and genetic testing are changing the way we look at genetic information.

Should the results of genetic testing (which might identify a predisposition toward disease not related to medical history) be available to life insurance medical underwriters?Few if any life insurers currently require genetic testing, but there are no laws or regulations prohibiting its use.Genetics and Life Insurance examines the complex economic, legal and social issues surrounding the use of genetic information in life insurance underwriting.

The contributors are legal scholars, representatives of the life insurance industry (including an actuary and an insurance physician), a geneticist, a genetic counsellor, a philosopher and a consumer advocate.

They explore all aspects of an issue that has only recently drawn the attention of policymakers and the public.