Why is genetic information of interest to insurance providers?
Genetic information can provide information regarding a person’s current or future health status, which can be important in risk evaluations to determine premium rates for life insurance. In fact, insurance providers have long been using genetic information to set insurance rate premiums by seeking out information regarding family history, cardiac illnesses, cholesterol levels or cancer. Insurance is a private contract between the insurer and the insured; and as such insurance providers can refuse to insure a person if the evaluation of his/her medical status indicates that the risk would be too high. The Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms specifically indicates that the use of health status as a factor for determining insurance risk is not a discriminatory practice.
