№ 3/2019

Fìnansi Ukr. 2019 (3): 118–128https://doi.org/10.33763/finukr2019.03.118

MARKET OF FINANCIAL SERVICES

ARYCH Mykhailo ¹, LEVON Mariia ²

¹National University of Food Technologies
OrcID ID : https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0910-2332
²Bogomolets National Medical University, Research ID : http://www.researcherid.com/rid/A-7238-2019
OrcID ID : https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9667-4282

The use of genetic testing in life and health insurance

The current capabilities of genetic testing, as well as the information obtained from this study, allow the insurance companies to use this as a new tool for underwriting. It is established that the biggest problems are genetic discrimination and information asymmetry in the insurance market. The purpose of the research paper is to analyze the historical preconditions, the current situations and prospects of the use of genetic testing results in life and health insurance. The research paper uses the following theoretical and empirical methods of research, such as analysis, synthesis, analogy, modeling, abstraction, specification, etc. Genetic discrimination arises because of the inclusion of insurance companies’ information on the genetic results of the insured. The information asymmetry in the insurance market is explained by the ability of insurers to have greater access to assessing their life and health insurance risks based on genetic testing results, with the fact that insurers will not be informed of these data. Foreign experience shows that there are different approaches to state regulation of the use of genetic testing results in insurance, for example, human rights, therapeutic limit, legislative prohibition, quality control system, moratorium, proportional approach and status quo. In life insurance, the most investigated cases of genetic discrimination are associated with five such diseases as Huntington’s disease, hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, hemochromatosis, familial hypercholesterolemia, and hereditary colorectal cancer. The development of genetic testing technologies makes it possible to more effectively assess the probability of human diseases, but, of course, there are still many controversial problems here. The insurance market of any country requires a compromise and balanced state regulation of the application of the results of genetic testing in insurance with the aims, firstly, to improve the functioning of the insurance market, and, secondly, to prevent genetic discrimination.

Keywords:insurance market, insurance, genetic testing, genetic discrimination, life insurance, health insurance

JEL: G22, I13, I18, J71, K2, K38

Arych M. . The use of genetic testing in life and health insurance / M. Arych, M. Levon // Фінанси України. - 2019. - № 3. - C. 118-128.

Article original in Ukrainian (pp. 118 - 128)

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