Insurers | The Generative Brain

We do not offer data, scores, estimates or any other input for pricing or accepting risk, and we will not produce them on request. The site holds no health or genetic information about individuals. This page is a general summary. It is not legal or insurance advice, and no lawyer has reviewed it. Laws change, so please use the primary texts and your own counsel.

What do the main rules say?

Place	Rule	Covers	Limits
United States	Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), 2008	Health insurers cannot use genetic information for eligibility, coverage, underwriting or premiums, and cannot require genetic tests. This reaches private insurers, Medicare, Medicaid, federal employee plans and VA coverage.	Life, disability and long-term care insurance are outside GINA. Some states add their own rules. TRICARE has narrower protection.
United Kingdom	Code on Genetic Testing and Insurance, a voluntary code agreed between government and the Association of British Insurers	Insurers will not require or pressure anyone to take a genetic test. Predictive results are not asked for or used, apart from the exception in the next column.	Predictive results can count only for an approved condition above set limits. The only approved test is for Huntington’s disease, on life cover above £500,000.
Canada	Genetic Non-Discrimination Act	Nobody may require a genetic test, or disclosure of results, as a condition of providing goods or services or of entering or continuing a contract. Results cannot be collected, used or disclosed without written consent.	Exceptions cover health care practitioners treating the person and researchers working with a participant.
Australia	Ban passed in 2026, reported in force from 8 October 2026	Life insurers cannot use adverse genetic test results to deny or limit cover. Trade reporting citing Genomics Australia lists death, total and permanent disability, trauma and income protection cover.	Insurers can still use diagnoses, signs, symptoms and, according to the same report, family medical history. Health insurance is outside the ban.

How is prion disease treated under these rules?

The UK Code does not mention prion disease, and it is not on the approved list in Appendix I. The Code separates predictive tests, in people without symptoms, from diagnostic tests. Diagnostic results can form part of the medical information in an application. Australia’s ban similarly leaves insurers able to use diagnoses, signs and symptoms.

How is family history handled?

The rules differ. GINA’s definition, as set out in the employment title on the EEOC page, includes disease appearing in family members, and NHGRI describes family disease as part of genetic information under the act. The UK Code says insurers may seek appropriate family medical history where relevant. It also says insurers will not ask for the predictive test result of a blood relative.

What about results from research?

Under the UK Code, insurers will not ask for predictive results obtained only in scientific research, or for predictive tests taken after cover starts.

What can partners ask us for?

We can correct or add a public source on this page. Please write to corrections@thegenerativebrain.org. Individual questions about cover belong with a qualified adviser, and questions about testing belong with a genetic counsellor, who can talk them through first. Not testing is a valid choice.

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