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HGC welcomes announcement of extension to insurance moratorium but further protections needed
13 June 2008
The Human Genetics Commission (HGC) has welcomed today’s announcement by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) that it will extend the moratorium on the use of predictive genetic test results in insurance to 2014.
HGC Commissioner Michael Harrison said:
“The HGC welcomes the ABI announcement as a sign of the insurance industry’s willingness to forebear from penalising individuals on the basis of what genetic tests reveal about their predisposition to future disease. Without this agreement, many people with highly predictable, late-onset genetic conditions might be denied access to affordable insurance; without insurance they can find it hard to access other goods or make provision for their families after their death.”
The HGC pressed strongly for the current moratorium, which was formalised in 2001 in an agreement between the Government and the Insurance Industry (represented by the ABI). However, Mr Harrison continued:
“Whilst the moratorium provides an extended breathing space, it does not solve the problem once and for all. What is known as the ‘test now, buy later problem’ remains: what will happen to those who are tested but don’t buy insurance until after 2014, when the results of those tests may be taken into account?”
This kind of concern lies behind the HGC’s recent call for the Government to legislate to prohibit all discrimination on grounds of genetics once and for all.
“In the forthcoming Equalities Bill, the Government has the opportunity to prevent genetic discrimination before it takes root, as the US has recently done through its Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act”, said Mr Harrison.
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