Table 11 Types of protection against GD in the insurance sector and their strengths and limitations
From: Addressing genetic discrimination for stronger legal protections and enhanced public awareness
Use of genetic information (including family medical history) in insurance underwriting |
| Always permissible |
| Only voluntary disclosure is permissible |
| Always prohibited |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Strength of protection against GD | Weak | Moderate | Strong | |||
Advantages | ✓ Lower regulatory burden | ✓ Balances protection against GD with minimising industry pushback and adverse selection | ✓ Simple to understand for consumers ✓ Makes people more willing to undergo genetic testing | |||
Disadvantages | × Makes people less willing to undergo genetic testing × Penalises those who know more | × Creates loopholes and inconsistancies × Implicit pressures on consumers to submit their genetic information × Creates information asymmetry that disadvantages consumers × High regulatory burden | × Stronger adverse selection × Undermines insurance industry’s profit × Worsening genetic exceptionalism, the belief that genetic information must be treated differently from other types of personally identifiable information | |||
