The impact of genetics on insurance and insurability By Charles R. Cantor, PhD Part 1 of 2 Concerns about genetic privacy have been raised since the beginning of the Human Genome Project . Many people fear that indiscrete disclosure of individual genetic data may lead to a loss of insurability for those with above average risk. Now that the human genome rough draft is complete and large-scale efforts are underway to define human genetic variability, it seems prudent to revisit some of the thorny issues that relate genetics and insurability. Making accurate genetic risk predictions about an individual may be difficult due to the wide range of variables that affect the expression of one's genes. At one extreme are diseases like Huntington's, a degenerative brain disorder, where all individuals who inherit a disease allele eventually develop the disease.
Environmental effects confound almost all inherited predispositions.
This means that genetic predictions are statistical in nature and are subject to very considerable errors at the level of individuals. Population-wide predictions are more reliable because the fluctuations inherent in individual data will be largely averaged out. Currently, there is limited widespread genetic testing. Thus both individuals and insurance companies make their respective decisions with little if any reference to the individual's genetics. All people are assumed to have the same average inherent risks, and actuarial tables of life expectancy are uniform.