Genetic Tests - The federal government announced on Tuesday it would ban the practice that saw consumers discriminated against if they disclosed the results of genetic tests that predict their likelihood of an inherited disease.
It comes after consultation to address genetic discrimination in life insurance earlier this year. More than 1,000 submissions were received with 97 per cent supporting a total ban. The announcement covers all risk-rated insurance including life insurance, income protection and total and permanent disability insurance.
Australians are increasingly accessing genetic testing to identify their risk of genetic conditions, such as a BRCA breast cancer gene, but there were growing reports of resistance due to how it might affect life insurance eligibility.
Cover Denied For Genetic Reasons - The announcements has been welcomed by customers where many have genetic condition that affects connective tissue which hold organs and other structures of the body in place. Many conditions are normally diagnosed via a genetic test during childhood.
Several experts have been lobbying for laws to ban insurers from using genetic tests to discriminate since 2016. There is a significant concern amongst people around the fact that life insurers can use their genetic results to discriminate against them, so either to deny their cover or increase the cost of their premiums.
Canada had banned the practice since 2017 and the UK for more than two decades. Council of Australian Life Insurers said the industry also backed the change and had put in place an industry standard in 2019 to control how genetic tests are used.
Several experts have been lobbying for laws to ban insurers from using genetic tests to discriminate since 2016. There is a significant concern amongst people around the fact that life insurers can use their genetic results to discriminate against them, so either to deny their cover or increase the cost of their premiums.
Canada had banned the practice since 2017 and the UK for more than two decades. Council of Australian Life Insurers said the industry also backed the change and had put in place an industry standard in 2019 to control how genetic tests are used.
The Financial Services Council (FSC), which previously oversaw the life insurance industry, introduced a self-regulated moratorium in 2019 to prevent genetic discrimination.
Under the guidelines, genetic testing results could not be collected by the insurer for policies up to $500,000. A partial moratorium only protected up to certain financial limits and were not legally binding.
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