Actuaries Institute Podcast

Stephen Dixon (Deputy Actuary at Munich Reinsurance Australia) questions Jessica Chen (Director of Insurance, Finance at BT Financial Group) on the research, potential impacts and considerations of modern genetic testing in the Dialogue thought leadership paper 'Genetics - a testing time for insurers?' - authored by Jessica and Alan Doble.In the paper, Jessica looks at the far reaching implications for society and individuals of genetic testing. Factors such as rapidly decreasing test costs and greater understanding of genetic research results have increased the use of genetic testing:Jessica notes that the genetics community in Australia sees a need to reduce barriers for people who want to understand their genetic make-up for health and/or family reasons. Increased genetic testing creates the potential for affected individuals to mitigate the risk of inherited disease that previously could not be identified through traditional blood and urine tests.Currently predictive genetic testing uses technology called