Prejudice on pause: Australia bans life insurers from using genetic tests to discriminate

Death, taxes, and….genetic testing? Well that's one less worry for Aussies looking to get life insurance.

Great news for Aussies stressing over life insurance, the federal government has just removed a major roadblock. Australia has become the latest country to make it illegal for providers to discriminate based on genetic testing results.

Life insurers and those offering income protection and permanent disability insurance will no longer have the ability to refuse cover or raise premiums on a range of insurance products.

Aussies have had to battle for a long time with the fear of losing financial security through life insurance when deciding on getting genetic tests.

And experts like Professor Steve Robson - Australian Medical Association president - say it's about time things changed.

"A situation fixed where there's been a huge financial penalty for having potentially life-saving medical testing has now been corrected. That's fantastic news for Australians and for their health system."

Stress has kept Aussies away from important treatment

The changes come after an open consultation by the government to address genetic discrimination from life insurers was finalised in January.

Over 1,000 submissions were received which found that an overwhelming 97% supported the move to remove the right to discriminate against life insurance customers.

And this wasn't for any odd reason.

Australians are increasingly seeking out genetics because of its potential for disease prevention, early diagnosis of genetic disorders or predispositions, and to help make informed decisions about their health and lifestyle.

But making the decision to do so has come with a significant emotional and financial cost in the past according to Robson.

"We know that a fear of being denied insurance coverage has been a huge disincentive for Australians to have genetic testing when they need it,"

A move in the right direction

The new changes remove the need to tell insurers if your genetic test has identified a predisposition for disease.

But it's not a free ticket to guaranteed life insurance coverage. If you're already diagnosed with a disease, there's still a requirement to tell insurers, which can mean you're denied coverage.

However, according to Taylor Blackburn, personal finance and insurance expert at Finder, a win is a win.

"Australians shouldn't have to avoid life saving tests out of fear of losing out on life insurance or bumping up their premiums. So this is fantastic news for Aussies looking to take care of their health."

With a thumbs up from key figures like public health and genomics researcher Dr Jane Tiller as well as the CEO of the Council of Australian Life Insurers (CALI), Christine Cupitt, there's sense of solidarity across the industry for the decision.

Cupitt herself, appeared with Minister Stephen Jones for the announcement and expressed the Council's support for the move.

"Life insurers want to support Australians to manage their health in a preventative way and recognise that genetic testing plays an important part in empowering them to do so."

Though with a five-year review cycle placed on the new changes, time will tell.

Finding the right life insurance

If life insurance sounds like the right move for you, a great way to compare and save is Finder.

There you can through the details of each policy and see what does and doesn't fit your needs. Then you can compare like-with-like so you know if you're getting the best deal when you shop around.