Life

Genetic testing is becoming more accessible and commonplace, with new genetic links to diseases regularly being identified. However, the many constraints on the use of predictive genetic tests in insurance means that the easy availability of direct consumer testing is an issue that the industry must consider very carefully.

The pressure is on for carriers to provide the best customer experience, while implementing consistent, comprehensive and accurate underwriting policies.  Advanced e-underwriting systems can help insurers respond.

Earlier this year researchers at Heidelberg University Hospital announced the development of a blood test that can detect breast cancer cells in patients - with higher accuracy than mammography.

Epigenetics is poised to improve the underwriting process, moving beyond deep venous puncture blood collection and a lengthy approval process that takes months to complete.

Perspectives magazine checked in with several BGAs, carriers and technology vendors to see how we sit on the learning curve, as well as discovering what lies ahead in technology to help you make the grade.

The Life Predictive Analytics Survey Report from Willis Towers Watson

There was a time in the very early days of life-insurance underwriting, somewhere actually in the 1700s, when the only useful and predictive piece of data recognized was age. And using it affected a simple equation: as the certainty of death approached year by year, so was risk duly assessed. It would take another two hundred years or so before we began to understand that gender also directly impacts the science of mortality. We now utilize a wealth of information to analyze and quantify risk, and yet, it appears, we may have still only scratched the surface. Today, we could be standing at the precipice of a quantum leap in how we understand, interpret and eventually underwrite an ever-expanding inventory of exposures.

The incidence of prostate cancer - especially the early stages - has been increasing steadily for years. This is also due to early detection methods, such as PSA screening or urological prostate exams. If diagnosed in its early stages, prostate cancer can nowadays be treated successfully with innovative methods.

Are cannabis, hemp and marijuana the same thing? What are THC and CBD? Are the medicinal benefits of cannabis true? What are the health risks? And as of now, is there enough data to assess the mortality impact?