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October 15, 2000

UK Insurers Back Genetic Testing
Reuters

LONDON -- Britain will give insurers the go-ahead to use genetic testing for the first time to identify the hereditary condition Huntington's disease, a top government adviser said on Thursday.

The Department of Health plans to give the official OK on Friday, after receiving a report from its Genetics and Insurance Committee set up last year to probe the issue.

Professor John Durant told BBC radio that his committee had ruled that a genetic test to identify the hereditary risk of getting Huntington's disease was reliable and relevant to the insurance industry.

While people will not be forced to take genetic tests, it does mean they will be compelled to disclose the results if they have ever been tested.

The government decision means insurers will be able to use such results to assess whether to grant cover or raise premiums.

"It is not a punitive step. This will actually benefit very many people seeking insurance," Durant told the BBC. "The only people who are likely to have taken a test for Huntington's disease are people with a family history of this disease."

But a Department of Health official denied that approval of genetic testing for Huntington's disease would open the floodgates to testing for all other types of hereditary disease.

"That will definitely not be the case. Each test will be looked at individually and assessed on that basis," he said.

The official added that the government had not yet received further applications from insurers seeking approval to use tests dealing with other conditions.

The Association of British Insurers is expected to seek approval for use of results for other illnesses like breast cancer and Alzheimer's.

The insurance industry has in the past denied suggestions that it will exploit use of gene testing information and make it expensive or difficult for some people to get life insurance cover or mortgages.

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