There is limited evidence that genetic testing is influencing customer decisions to take out insurance, according to research from the Association of British Insurers (ABI).
The trade body’s report found insurance purchase decisions do not appear to be a primary motivation for taking a genetic test in the UK.
However, the ABI warned: “While the research has provided a helpful assessment of the current state of genetic testing, a lack of evidence showing anti-selection does not equate to evidence it does not exist.”
The research was conducted by the Cambridge Centre for Health Services Research (CCHSR) as part of the ABI’s annual report on the code on genetic testing and insurance.
It also found that assessing the risk to the insurance sector posed by genetic testing and associated conditions was unclear as such testing is limited by the current knowledge of the genetic variants that increase the risk of developing conditions.
There was also some evidence that people with an increased genetic risk for a condition said they were motivated to make lifestyle changes to reduce their risk of ill-health, however the evidence for behaviour changes actually taking place was more mixed.
And this appears to vary depending on the type of health condition and types of lifestyle changes required.
Some of the other key findings of the report include:
- That greater use of tests may help reduce health risks. If genetic testing is used to help target interventions that reduce health risks earlier, this may lead to some conditions presenting less of a risk to insurers over time.
- That NHS testing is largely limited to those with a known family history. Most of the genetic tests considered by the research only have clinical use in the NHS for people already suspected of being at a higher risk due to a family history or who have shown symptoms, so access to tests is generally limited to people at a higher risk with use by the general population currently low.
- That direct-to-consumer genetic tests are not as comprehensive as clinical tests. While genetic tests for some conditions can be accessed via direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies, the tests offered are not as comprehensive as those through the NHS.
Overwhelming majority of sales unaffected
The report also carries data on the distribution of life, income protection and critical illness insurance policies written against their respective financial limits within the code.
The data only looks at new insurance policies which start that year, because it is only at the start of the policy that the financial limit is applied.
While it is important to monitor the number of policies underneath the various limits, in practice, only the life insurance limit is currently relevant because the Huntington’s disease test for life insurance is the only exception within the code. The other limits only become relevant should a new exception be applied for and approved.
Currently, 95% of life insurance policies fall within the financial limit of £500,000; 87% of income protection policies fall within the limit of £30,000 per annum; and, 97% of critical illness policies and 93% of accelerated critical illness policies fall under the limit of £300,000.
Commenting on the report’s findings, ABI manager for health & protection Charlie Campbell said the body was pleased to see that the code on genetic testing and insurance continues to work well.
“It gives customers peace of mind to know they will not be required to have a predictive or diagnostic genetic test which could affect their ability to access insurance cover,” Campbell said.
“We have published our second annual report to provide transparency about how the code works. The report includes findings from independent research commissioned by the ABI looking at the potential impact of developments in genetics on insurance.
“While the future is uncertain, the research suggests there are no immediate concerns for insurers or consumers that should impact how the code is working.”
Only one test disclosure required
The code is a voluntary agreement between government and the ABI whereby insurers who are signed up will never require or pressure any applicant to undertake a predictive or diagnostic genetic test, and will only consider the result of a predictive genetic test for a very small minority of cases.
It was first published in October 2018, replacing the Concordat and Moratorium on Genetics and Insurance,and refers to two different kinds of genetic tests:
• Diagnostic genetic tests which confirm or rule out a diagnosis based on existing symptoms, signs or abnormal non-genetic test results which indicate that the condition in question may be present.
• Predictive genetic tests that predict a future risk of disease in individuals without symptoms of a genetic disorder.
To date, there is only one test for which insurers can request disclosure of results, which is a predictive genetic test for Huntington’s disease and that is only for applications for life insurance cover over £500,000.