TY - BOOK ID - 77863708 TI - Genetics and life insurance : medical underwriting and social policy PY - 2004 SN - 0262282712 9780262282710 1417561769 9781417561766 026218236X 9780262182362 PB - [Place of publication not identified] MIT Press DB - UniCat KW - Life insurance KW - Genetics KW - Bioethics KW - Insurance, Life. KW - Bopetjoca; Ossies/ KW - Genetics. KW - Biology KW - Biomedical ethics KW - Life sciences KW - Life sciences ethics KW - Science KW - Embryology KW - Mendel's law KW - Adaptation (Biology) KW - Breeding KW - Chromosomes KW - Heredity KW - Mutation (Biology) KW - Variation (Biology) KW - Genetic Structures KW - Genetic Phenomena KW - Life Insurance KW - Insurances, Life KW - Life Insurances KW - Medical examinations KW - Moral and ethical aspects KW - bio-ethiek (medische, biomedische ethiek, bio-ethische aspecten) KW - genetica (genen) KW - genetisch onderzoek KW - medisch onderzoek KW - bioéthique (éthique médicale, biomédicale, aspects bioéthiques) KW - génétique (gènes) KW - recherche génétique KW - examen médical KW - Bioethics. KW - Medical examinations. UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:77863708 AB - Insurance companies routinely use an individual's medical history and family medical history in determining eligibility for life insurance; this is part of the process of medical underwriting. Insurers have also long used genetic information, often derived from family history, in underwriting. But rapid advances in gene identification and genetic testing are changing the way we look at genetic information. Should the results of genetic testing (which might identify a predisposition toward disease not related to medical history) be available to life insurance medical underwriters? Few if any life insurers currently require genetic testing, but there are no laws or regulations prohibiting its use. Genetics and Life Insurance examines the complex economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of genetic information in life insurance underwriting. The contributors are legal scholars, representatives of the life insurance industry (including an actuary and an insurance physician), a geneticist, a genetic counselor, a philosopher, and a consumer advocate. They explore all aspects of an issue that has only recently drawn the attention of policymakers and the public.The book opens with a report on the results of a public opinion poll on genetics and life insurance. Succeeding chapters present the insurer perspective, a discussion of the economics of risk selection in life insurance, background information on the process of underwriting, a scientific analysis of genetic risks and mortality rates, a philosophical discussion of fairness and genetic underwriting, the viewpoints of consumers and genetics counselors, a comparison of different international policy approaches to the issue, and a legal analysis of antitrust implications when insurers collaborate in setting standards for medical underwriting. In the final chapter the editor addresses various policy options, examining the pros and cons of each one and assessing their political feasibility. ER -