While genetic tests will tell us a lot about our potential state of health, and may even hint at our longevity, they are unlikely to predict illness accurately enough to undermine the whole basis of insurance-uncertainty. Paul Grace, president of the Faculty of Actuaries, agrees. And even if genetic tests could add to family history, they run the risk of defeating the whole purpose of insurance. Peter Harper, a medical geneticist at the University of Wales at Cardiff, argues that insurance companies should keep the uncertainty that underpins insurance. The insurance industry has nothing to lose and a lot to gain from not asking for genetic information.
Insurance companies offer a wide range of sickness-related policies, apart from life insurance.
There is health insurance, which pays the costs of private medical care. There are income protection policies, which pay out if you suffer a sudden loss of income. Health and life policies are the most likely to be affected by better genetic information. But more so in some countries than others. Some 400 different providers of healthcare are competing vigorously, says O'Neill, and they have every reason to want only low-risk clients on their books.