To Örebro University

The authors of this study emphasize the effectiveness of collectively funded public insurances as opposed to genetic information regulation within the private insurance sector. Genetics has provided tools to determine individuals' risk of future disease, which is of key interest for insurance companies in determining insurance premiums; but persons with high enough risk may remain uninsured. For this reason, genetic information has been regulated. But, regulation may not be the solution, according to the authors, and they call for the resumption of social insurance, a key element of the welfare state.

The results are examined here of two key social developments in recent years: the partial dismantling of the welfare state and the progress of genetics. Genetic insights are becoming increasingly valuable for risk assessment, and insurers would like to use these insights to help determine premiums. Combined with the fact that social welfare is being curtailed, this could potentially create an uninsured high-risk population. Along with considerations of autonomy and privacy, this forms the basis for an ethical critique of insurers’ access to information. There has often been regulation of such information, but the authors argue that because of adverse selection regulation will not solve these problems and may jeopardise the survival of private personal insurance. Instead, we should look towards the resurrection of social insurance, a key component of the welfare state. This book will interest academic researchers and professionals involved with genetics and insurance.