We also help our members understand regulation being developed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), working closely with regulators and our members.  

We are part of the Global Federation of Insurance Associations and also a member of Insurance Europe. 

We have a long-standing agreement with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) on how insurers use genetic information, called the Code on genetic testing and insurance. 

This has been in place since 2001 and it specifies that a customer can take out insurance – critical illness, income protection, and life insurance – without disclosing a predictive genetic test result. There is only one exception to this agreement, which is that predictive test results for Huntington’s disease should be disclosed by applicants for life insurance above £500,000. This is because of the high likelihood of a Huntington’s disease diagnosis when the gene is present. 

Our current work on genetics largely revolves around regularly reviewing the Code and ensuring it continues to work for consumers, insurers and government. We do this by: 

• Setting out how the agreement works and the reassurance it offers to customers 

• Reporting the industry’s compliance with the agreement 

• Educating member firms on the handling of genetic data 

Read the Code on genetic testing and insurance

We have published Principles for requesting and obtaining medical information electronically from GPs. These Principles were put together our with members and with input from the British Medical Association (BMA) and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).