Genetic discrimination in life insurance: empirical evidence from a cross sectional survey of genetic support groups in the United Kingdom

Objectives To gather empirical evidence on any discrimination based on gene tic information shown by the insurance industry in the United Kingdom and t o assess how society is likely to handle future genetic information from te sts for polygenic multifactorial conditions. Design Postal questionnaire survey Subjects Sample (n = 7000) of members from seven British support groups for families with genetic disorders and a representative sample (n = 1033) of the general public who answered questions on applying for life insurance as part of an omnibus survey Main outcome measures Subjects were asked about their experiences with insu rers, the medical profession, employers, and social services. Experiences w ith insurers are reported here. Results Altogether 33.4% of the study group had problems when applying for life insurance compared with 5% of applicants in the omnibus survey Thirtee n per cent of Study respondents from subgroups who represented no adverse a ctuarial risk on genetic grounds reported that their treatment by insurers seemed to represent unjustified genetic discrimination. Conclusions Life insurers may not be operating a consistent policy for asse ssing genetic information or acting in accord with the actuarial risks brou ght to them. The inconsistency suggests error rather than a corporate polic y of discrimination based on genetic characteristics. Any future proposals for genetic testing for common or multifactorial disorders should be examin ed carefully.