Life Insurance Quotes Blog

Summary
The dilemmas associated with the introduction of genetic testing and how it  is applied to the writing of insurance policies, specifically in connection with Huntington’s disease.

Insurance covers might not be affected at the moment by the controversial matter of genetic testing preceding the ABI’s proposals that people ought not be asked by insurance companies for the results of genetic tests for the next six years.

Resembling many of ABI ‘s edicts,  such as obliterating the Raising Standards Initiative, it is a voluntary as opposed to a compulsory code. All the same it is wonderful news. In practise, very few of ABI’s 404 insurers are likely to take no notice of the recommendations, as it could put their membership of the Association of British Insurers at peril.

The low consistrency of genetic tests on hand at present was known by the Association of British Insurers. For example, simply because a family member died from cancer does not always mean that they will contract the disease. However the still approves the test for Huntington’s disease as a reliable guage when underwriting life assurance policies.

With life policies over £400,000, insurance companies could demand the results or a genetic test for HD. On the other hand ABI indicates that only 4% of all life policies are underwritten for over £300,000.

A Government select committee has uttered doubt about the importance of the genetic testing for Huntington’s and has demanded that the Genetic and Insurance Committee reassesses their decision. It is important that this reprieve is used to discuss the matter in detail sooner than to use it as a pretext to ignore genetic testing for the following 6 years. Being an strich will only worsen the situation, as advances in medical science will be used to encourage much more trustworthy genetic tests within the next 5 years.

Life assurance companies may then make use of genetic tests when underwriting covers, leaving clients with a genetic lower class, who might have a problem finding life insurance cover.

Certain insurers like the Aviva, are proposing a public/ private ruling to solve the problem. They recently employed an all encompassing moratorium on the underwriting of life assurance centred upon the results of genetic tests. The use of these tests will be pricey so it is logical that the Government should share the load with insurers.

An impartial complaints system will be established by the ABI so that consumers have sufficient rights if they believe that the insurers have dealt with them unfairly. At present there isn’t any documentation of how a proposal of this nature would perform, nonetheless it must deliver results, which truly deliver and be fully outside of the insurance market. The ABI will control the moratorium themselves, which cause concerns concerning whether consumers will obtain an unprejudiced  hearing. The positive statement by the Association of British Insurers will be a meaningless promise if they don’t and the Life Insurance Shop agrees.

A Joint Statement of Concern has been presented to a House of Commons Cross Party Group  46 individuals and organisations have called upon the Government to legislate against  the use of genetic test results in insurance.

They are bothered that there is no legal guidelines to stop the use of genetic testing by employers and insurance companies to make judgments about who should be able to get insurance. Furthermore they think that testing is not a trustworthy or conclusive prophet of a person’s future medical health.

If you want quotations for life insurance or, indeed, any of the insurance we have discussed, we suggest that you go online.