Work

Genomics and insurance in the United Kingdom: increasing complexity and emerging challenges

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: This article identifies issues relating to the use of genetics and genomics in risk-rated insurance that may challenge existing regulatory models in the UK and elsewhere. We discuss three core issues: (1) As genomic testing advances, and results are increasingly relevant to guide healthcare across an individual's lifetime, the distinction between diagnostic and predictive testing that the current UK insurance code relies on becomes increasingly blurred. (2) The emerging category of pharmacogenetic tests that are predictive only in the context of a specific prescribing moment. (3) The increasing availability and affordability of polygenic scores that are neither clearly diagnostic nor highly predictive, but which nonetheless might have incremental value for risk-rated insurance underwriting beyond conventional factors. We suggest a deliberative approach is required to establish when and how genetic information can be used in risk-rated insurance.

Source: Health Economics Policy and Law

DOI: 10.1017/s1744133124000070

Authors: Padraig Dixon, Rachel H. Horton, William G. Newman, John H. McDermott, Anneke Lucassen

Institutions: University of Oxford, Centre for Human Genetics, University of Manchester, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust

Language: English

Topic: Medical and Health Sciences Research

Subfield: Law

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,450

Funders: Wellcome Trust, National Institute for Health and Care Research, Department of Health and Social Care, Manchester Biomedical Research Centre