{"id":320817,"date":"2025-11-07T16:08:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T21:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/?p=122265"},"modified":"2025-11-07T16:08:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T21:08:09","slug":"home-dna-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/insurance\/life\/home-dna-test\/","title":{"rendered":"How a Home DNA Test Could Complicate Your Life Insurance Application"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

As morbid as it sounds, life insurance companies<\/a> estimate longevity by reviewing information you disclose and what\u2019s in your medical records, and\u2014where permitted by law\u2014any known genetic test results documented there. Whether genetic information can be used depends heavily on where you live. In the U.S., federal GINA<\/a> protections do not apply to life insurance; state rules vary. By contrast, the UK\u2019s government\u2013industry Code largely bars predictive genetic results in life underwriting, Canada\u2019s national law prohibits requiring or using genetic test results, and Australia operates a moratorium that limits use below specified sums insured (UK Code<\/a>; Canada GNDA<\/a>; Australia FSC Standard No. 11<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGenetic tests conducted at your doctor will go on your medical file with the Medical Information Bureau (MIB), which is fair game for life insurance companies to review in underwriting. It\u2019s not unheard of for people to get declined due to having certain genes that increase risk of cancer,\u201d said John Holloway, an insurance agent and co-founder of NoExam.com<\/a>, in an email to Reviews.com.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing has a large user base but slower growth compared with its 2017\u20132018 surge. By early 2019, more than 26 million people had taken at\u2011home ancestry tests, and subsequent adoption decelerated as privacy and security concerns gained attention (MIT Technology Review<\/a>). Major providers still serve tens of millions, but the market has matured, with firms emphasizing research partnerships and health integrations over pure DTC volume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve ever seen one of the TV ads<\/a>, you might not realize these consumer reports are not a substitute for medical care. Regulators caution that health\u2011risk reports should not drive screening or treatment without clinician guidance and confirmatory testing (FDA consumer genetic testing<\/a>; NHGRI on DTC testing<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, questions about how these tests<\/a> intersect with life insurance now have clearer, jurisdiction\u2011specific answers. The UK Code allows use of only one predictive test\u2014Huntington\u2019s disease\u2014and only when life cover exceeds \u00a3500,000; insurers cannot require applicants to undergo genetic testing (ABI Code<\/a>). Canada\u2019s Genetic Non\u2011Discrimination Act<\/a> makes it illegal to require or use genetic test results to obtain insurance and was upheld nationally by the Supreme Court in 2020 (SCC 2020<\/a>). Australia\u2019s industry moratorium<\/a> bars adverse use of predictive results at or below specified sums insured (applicants may volunteer favorable results). In the U.S., GINA does not cover life insurance and state laws create a patchwork of restrictions (NHGRI on genetic discrimination<\/a>; NCSL state overview<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n

Before you sign or send anything, read all the fine print you can find<\/h2>\n\n\n

Along with most law enforcement agencies, life insurers are not governed by the medical information underwriting limits in HIPAA\u2019s health\u2011plan provisions, and GINA<\/a> does not apply to life, disability, or long\u2011term care insurance. Major DTC providers publish detailed law\u2011enforcement policies and transparency updates: 23andMe and Ancestry say they have not produced customer genetic data in response to law\u2011enforcement requests and will require valid legal process, while MyHeritage prohibits investigative use outright; FamilyTreeDNA allows investigative matching only for users who opt in (23andMe transparency<\/a>; Ancestry guidelines<\/a>; MyHeritage policy<\/a>; FamilyTreeDNA LE guide<\/a>). Earlier reporting highlighted cooperation in limited circumstances, but today companies emphasize opt\u2011in controls and narrow compliance. Security incidents also matter: a credential\u2011stuffing attack disclosed by 23andMe exposed profile\/relationship data from approximately 6.9 million users in 2023, underscoring the importance of strong passwords and multi\u2011factor authentication (23andMe security update<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Staying abreast of the company\u2019s privacy policy (and terms of service)<\/a> is one way to understand where your data may go, but also check applicable laws. State privacy statutes increasingly require explicit, opt\u2011in consent and disclosures for genetic data. Examples include California\u2019s Genetic Information Privacy Act (GIPA)<\/a> and Washington\u2019s My Health My Data Act<\/a>, both of which impose consent, access, deletion, and security obligations that affect any research sharing or partnerships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katie Hasson, program director on genetic justice for the Center for Genetics and Society, says that even if you understand the privacy policy, these DTC genetic testing companies can change them at will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen opting into giving our data to research, we think of it as an altruistic act in helping the world. We don\u2019t necessarily get to know where it\u2019s going \u2014 maybe your data is helping treat some disease or create some medicine. But maybe it\u2019s going to be research on something you actually object to \u2014 like testing for intelligence and race.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

23andMe, which partnered with GlaxoSmithKline<\/a> last year in an agreement to conduct research, says users can exercise some autonomy<\/a> in where their information will go by opting in or out of sharing for research purposes. The company also states it \u201cwill not provide any person\u2019s data (genetic or non-genetic) to an insurance company or employer.\u201d Beyond that headline partnership, company filings describe a shift away from strict exclusivity to non\u2011exclusive research services and trial\u2011recruitment work, all dependent on separate, explicit research consent (SEC filings<\/a>; 23andMe Privacy Statement<\/a>). U.S. regulators have also tightened expectations for health\u2011data handling and breach response that apply to many DTC genomics providers and their partners (FTC Health Breach Notification Rule<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The thing is, while 23andMe says it won\u2019t hand your genetic data to life insurers, you might have to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince GINA does not apply to life insurance, companies can technically ask about genetic testing on applications. Purposely withholding relevant facts from a life insurance application is material misrepresentation and can be cause for the insurance company to rescind the policy or deny a claim.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

John Holloway<\/strong>
Insurance agent and co-founder of NoExam.com<\/a><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

You might be wondering: Do DTC genetic tests have the same scientific power to evaluate whether you\u2019re at risk for a certain disease as those ordered by a physician? And how do life insurance companies see them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In general, DTC ancestry tests can help connect relatives, but for health decisions, regulators and genomics experts urge caution. Many DTC health\u2011risk reports cover only selected variants and are not diagnostic; a \u201cnegative\u201d result does not eliminate risk, and any actionable finding should be confirmed in a clinical laboratory and discussed with a clinician (FDA<\/a>; NHGRI<\/a>). Polygenic risk scores show population\u2011level associations but add modest predictive value for many individuals and vary by ancestry (NHGRI PRS fact sheet<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n

DTC versus clinical-grade genetic tests<\/h2>\n\n\n

Dr. Jonathan Berg, an associate professor at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill\u2019s department of genetics, says the reliability of these tests depends on the clinical question being asked and varies greatly from one condition to the next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you are asking about a predictive polygenic risk score, then the answer is that these scores have typically been shown to be statistically significant across a population of cases and controls, but they generally aren\u2019t much more predictive for an individual than traditional risk factors (family history, age, smoking status, BMI, etc.) except for perhaps a small percentage of extreme outliers,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd in those cases, it isn\u2019t clear that prediction necessarily equals prevention,\u201d Berg said in an email to Reviews.com.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked about the benefits of DTC genetic tests, Berg said it\u2019s in the eye of the beholder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome people will get some personal satisfaction from the information,\u201d he said. \u201c If you asked, \u201cDo DTC genetic tests offer any health benefits\u201d the answer is no, we don\u2019t currently have any good evidence that DTC genotyping tests for prediction of common multifactorial disease risks have substantial clinical benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

How are DTC genetic tests regulated?<\/h2>\n\n\n

While you can check for clinical and analytical validity yourself, the U.S. National Library of Medicine<\/a> says finding stamps of approval from federal organizations, like the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, when it comes to DTC genetic testing, might be tough. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)<\/a> regulates DTC health\u2011risk and certain pharmacogenetic reports as medical devices, with defined special controls for consumer comprehension and labeling (see the Genetic Health Risk classification at 21 CFR 866.5950<\/a>). In 2024, FDA finalized a rule to bring most laboratory developed tests under phased device requirements, which will increasingly affect lab\u2011run DTC genetic offerings (LDT final rule<\/a>; FDA press announcement<\/a>). FDA has also aligned its quality system with ISO 13485 through the QMSR amendments<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2017, the FDA officially granted<\/a> 23andMe the right to market its ability to determine a consumer\u2019s predisposition to 10 diseases or conditions. (Some of which could really pique the interest of your life insurer as some of the leading causes of death<\/a> in the U.S., like certain types of cancers, Parkinson\u2019s, and Alzheimer\u2019s diseases.) However, FDA emphasizes that genetics are only one piece of risk and that consumers should not change care based on DTC reports without confirmatory testing and clinician input (FDA<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hasson says the marketing tactics are changing beliefs about genetics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause of the way this is marketed, it\u2019s really increasing ideas about genetic determinism that are inaccurate,\u201d she said. \u201cThey heighten the thinking that there are genes for intelligence, talents, sports ability, and reinforce the belief that race is genetic, which is an outdated, incorrect idea.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

What should I do if I\u2019m applying for a life insurance policy?<\/h2>\n\n\n

Jack Dolan, media relations vice president at the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), told Reviews.com via email these DTC genetic tests aren\u2019t that reliable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey test for three different mutations of BRCA gene. There are, in fact, a thousand different BRCA1 mutations that cause breast cancer. They’re testing for a tiny fraction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using the same breast cancer example, 23andMe acknowledges its test may not give you all the answers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The BRCA1\/BRCA2 (Selected Variants) Genetic Health Risk Report does not describe an individual\u2019s overall risk for developing any type of cancer and is not a substitute for consultation with your doctor or a genetic counselor about recommended screenings.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

-23andMe<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Dolan says you \u201cneed to go to your doctor or a genetic counselor and get the right genetic test and information.\u201d Both Dolan and Holloway agree that life insurers generally do not order genetic tests; they review medical records and disclosures with your consent (ACLI<\/a>). Disclosure obligations depend on jurisdiction and application language: in Canada, insurers cannot require or use genetic test results (GNDA<\/a>); in the UK, predictive results are generally off\u2011limits, with a single exception for Huntington\u2019s disease above \u00a3500,000 cover (UK Code<\/a>); in Australia, adverse predictive results cannot be used at or below product\u2011specific sums insured under the FSC Moratorium<\/a>; and in the U.S., more than a dozen states restrict use in some way (NCSL<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps there\u2019s no good way to answer whether DTC genetic tests will affect your life insurance experience. Since insurance experts recommend honesty when it comes to reporting on genetic testing in general, it\u2019s still best to weigh the pros and cons before you decide to peek into lineage or disease predispositions without a physician\u2019s guidance. Because in the end, every provider is different, and you really don\u2019t know how it\u2019ll respond to your results from a genetic test \u2014 DTC or otherwise, especially if an underwriting agency were to do some digging and discover you misrepresented known information on an application. What we do know<\/a> is you can be denied, non-renewed, or see higher premiums for having a genetic risk for certain diseases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There might also be a system of checks and balances in place. Holloway says most applications have a dedicated section for agents to leave notes. Here, the agent can explain the type of genetic test, and that this then helps underwriters to determine whether and how the \u201cyes\u201d you clicked for genetic testing affects your risk profile.<\/p>\n\n\n

DTC genetic tests: Looking forward<\/h2>\n\n\n

Insurance aside, one variable that rings true in this whole equation is that there are a lot of unknowns<\/a>. And just like the information you share online, sharing your genetic data in this manner comes with a level of permanence. In sharing your genetic data, you\u2019re also sharing your family\u2019s, and once it\u2019s out there, it can be tough to retrieve \u2014 even with scrubbing and removal options offered by several DTC genetic testing companies. Consumer Reports<\/a> found that if you\u2019ve consented to handing your data over for research purposes to 23andMe and want to remove your profile, the company can\u2019t technically remove any DNA previously given or already used in certain studies. But if you do ask for removal, 23andMe won\u2019t continue giving your data to research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for the future \u2014 the DNA sample won\u2019t change but science will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know — even in five years, what kinds of things people will be able to do or learn from our data,\u201d Hasson said. \u201cGenetic science is changing so quickly, and there are things being done now that we wouldn\u2019t have been able to foresee before.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo Credit: Bloomberg \/ Getty Images<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As morbid as it sounds, life insurance companies estimate longevity by reviewing information you disclose and what\u2019s in your medical records, and\u2014where permitted by law\u2014any known genetic test results documented there. Whether genetic information can be used depends heavily on where you live. In the U.S., federal GINA protections do not apply to life insurance; […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":345,"featured_media":123217,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1270],"tags":[],"post_author":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow a Home DNA Test Could Complicate Your Life Insurance Application - Reviews.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Using this guide you can understand How a Home DNA Test Could Complicate Your Life Insurance Application\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/insurance\/life\/home-dna-test\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How a Home DNA Test Could Complicate Your Life Insurance Application - Reviews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Using this guide you can understand How a Home DNA Test Could Complicate Your Life Insurance Application\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/insurance\/life\/home-dna-test\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Reviews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Reviewscom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-07T21:08:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/featured-image-genetic-testing-life-insurance.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Reviews Staff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Reviews\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Reviews\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Reviews Staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"11 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/insurance\/life\/home-dna-test\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How a Home DNA Test Could Complicate Your Life Insurance Application\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/\",\"name\":\"Reviews.com\",\"description\":\"Your Guide to the Best Services\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.reviews.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How a Home DNA Test Could Complicate Your Life Insurance Application - 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