“We don’t know the reliability of that information or the accuracy of the test,” Gleeson says.Īccording to the ACLI, if an insurer asks about genetic tests on a life insurance application it would only be interested in an at-home test if your results came back with a recommendation that you contact your doctor about a particular result. “Those things have nothing to do with mortality or your health,” Gleeson says. So they’re not interested in the results of direct-to-consumer ancestry tests. Life insurance companies want information about applicants’ health. Life insurers want to sell as much life insurance to as many people as possible at as low of a rate as possible.”Īt-home genetic tests put life insurers at a disadvantage when pricing policies: Consumers who suspect from an at-home genetic test that they are predisposed to illness might be more apt to buy life insurance without disclosing the genetic information to the insurance company. “That’s the furthest thing from the truth. Robert Gleeson, a former medical consultant for the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI). “Many people are afraid that life insurers want to use genetic tests to rate or decline applicants,” says Dr. The insurance industry, on the other hand, claims that consumers benefit when insurers have this information. “Of all the kinds of sensitive data there may be about people, that’s right up at the top of the list.” “There’s probably nothing more personal than your genetic information,” says Susan Grant, director of consumer protection and privacy at the Consumer Federation of America. Gavin Newson vetoed a genetic privacy bill in September 2020.Ĭonsumer privacy advocates argue that there need to be more regulations to limit the use of genetic information by insurance companies in order to protect privacy and prevent discrimination. Legislation has been proposed in several states, but Florida is the only state that has enacted a genetic privacy law that prohibits life insurance companies from canceling, limiting or denying coverage and from setting different premium rates based on genetic information. So there is no federal law that limits the use of genetic information by life insurance companies. However, GINA protections do not extend to life insurance, disability insurance or long-term care insurance. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) of 2008 prohibits health insurance companies from using genetic information to make coverage or rate decisions. Regulations Related to Using Genetic Information So it would make sense that insurers would want to know the results of any genetic tests you’ve taken, right? After all, those tests could give them insight into whether you might develop a life-threatening disease.ĭoes that mean, though, that taking an at-home DNA test such as one from 23andMe or Ancestry could hurt your chances of getting life insurance? Here’s what you need to know about whether insurance companies can see applicants’ genetic test results and how they can use that information. Insurers need this information to determine how much of a risk you are to insure-that is, how likely you are to die prematurely. Most importantly, the insurer will need plenty of details about your health, the prescription drugs you take and even your family’s medical history (parents and siblings).
It will want to know your occupation, your smoking habits and whether you have any risky hobbies. It will want to know the basics, such as your age and sex. When you apply for a life insurance policy, the insurance company will gather information about you-a lot of information.
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