Genetics and Life, Disability and Long-term Care Insurance

Link to: Genetic Technologies Project NCSL Genetics Laws and Legislative Activity

Updated January 2008

SEE NCSL’S Genetics Laws and Legislative Activity page to access our database of state genetics legislation.

While a majority of states have enacted laws that strictly prohibit the use of genetic information for risk selection and risk classification in health insurance, fewer states restrict the use of genetic information in life, disability and long-term care insurance. Seven states prohibit genetic discrimination in life insurance without actuarial justification. Of these seven, Arizona, Maine, and New Jersey also prohibit genetic discrimination in disability insurance without actuarial justification, and Massachusetts, Montana and New Mexico extend their prohibitions to disability and long-term care insurance. Of the three lines of insurance, Idaho prohibits genetic discrimination in disability insurance only. Colorado, Massachusetts, Oregon and Vermont prohibit insurers from requiring applicants to undergo genetic testing for long-term care insurance but permit the use of test results. Some states mention life, disability or long-term care as exclusions to their genetic nondiscrimination legislation. For these states there are statute citations below but no columns are checked.

State and Statutes	Restricts Discrimination Based on Genetic Information in Life Insurance	Restricts Discrimination Based on Genetic Information in Disability Insurance	Restricts Discrimination Based on Genetic Information in Long-term Care Insurance	Requires Actuarial Justification to Use Genetic Information in Life Insurance	Requires Informed Consent to Use Genetic Information
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona §20-448	v	v		v	v
Arkansas
California Insurance §§10146 to 10149.1	v	v	v		v¹
Colorado §10-3-1104.7		v²	v⁸		v⁹
Connecticut
Delaware §18-2317
Florida 2000-Ch0626-Section%209706"§§626-9706 to 2000-Ch0626-Section%209707"7	v⁶	v⁶
Georgia §33-54-7
Hawaii §431:10A-118
Idaho §41-2221, 2006 SB 1432		v
Illinois
Indiana §27-8-26-1(b)(5)
Iowa
Kansas §40-2259 (d)(1,2)	v	v	v⁸
Kentucky §304.12-085
Louisiana §§22-213.7, 22-1214(23)
Maine §24-A-2159-C(3)	v	v	v⁷	v	v
Maryland Insurance §27-208	v			v
Massachusetts 175 §120E	v	v	v⁷^,⁸	v
Michigan
Minnesota 72A-139	v¹	v			v
Mississippi
Missouri §§375.1303, 6
Montana §33-18-206	v	v	v⁷	v
Nebraska §44-787
Nevada
New Hampshire 141-H:5
New Jersey^* §§17B:27A-17, 30-12(f)	v	v		v	v
New Mexico^* §§24-21-3, 4	v	v	v⁷	v	v⁵
New York Ins §2612	v	v			v
North Carolina §§58-3-215, 58-58-25	v³
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma §§36-3614.1, .2, .3, .4
Oregon §§746.135, 192.531	v	v	v⁸		v
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island §27-18-52
South Carolina §38-71-100
South Dakota §58-1-24
Tennessee
Texas Ins §21.73
Utah
Vermont §18-9333 to 4	v	v	v⁸
Virginia §§38.2-508.4, 613
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin §631-89(3)	v	v
Wyoming §26-19-107		v

NOTES:

1 Can only require a person to undergo a genetic test unless the cost of the test is paid by the insurer.
2 Applies only to group disability and long-term care insurance.
3 Applies only to "sickle-cell trait, thalassemia-minor trait, hemoglobin C trait, Tay-Sachs trait, or a genetic trait that is harmless in itself."
4 No life insurance company shall refuse to issue or deliver life insurance or charge a higher rate solely because of possession of sickle cell trait or hemoglobin C trait.
5 Must notify individual that genetic test may be used.
6 No insurer shall refuse to issue, fail to deliver, or charge a higher rate solely because a person has the sickle-cell trait.
7 Requires actuarial justification.
8 Forbids insurers from requiring a genetic test.
9 Informed consent requirement may apply to all lines of insurance of life and individual disability only.