TONY EASTLEY: You've heard of age discrimination or discrimination on the basis of gender, but what about people suffering discrimination because of what's in their genes? A new study has found that the insurance industry is using genetic information to decide who gets cover and how much they pay.
Simon Santow reports.
SIMON SANTOW: About a thousand people who'd undergone some form of genetic testing were asked about their experiences with insurance companies. Ten per cent of them had run into problems.
KRISTINE BARLOW-STEWART: Life insurance was the most common domain of concern cited by these respondents.
SIMON SANTOW: Each was in good health and unaffected by the area of family medical history for which they'd been tested.
According to associate professor Kristine Barlow-Stewart from the Centre for Genetics Information at Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital, there was plenty of evidence of discrimination. KRISTINE BARLOW-STEWART: There was a range of concerns cited. In some cases people had been denied insurance outright either on the basis of their family history or because of a genetic test result.
In other cases their insurance premiums were loaded excessively or in other cases exclusion clauses were inserted into their policies for claims of cover at the onset of particular illnesses.
SIMON SANTOW: Simply because they had answered yes to a question 'have you ever had a genetic test for cancer' or that sort of thing?
KRISTINE BARLOW-STEWART: Some of the insurance applications would have asked that question directly but regardless of whether they'd been asked that question directly or not, it is part of the contract when applying for a life insurance that you must tell the insurer all information that is known to you that is relevant to your risk assessment. That would include, of course, your family history but also the result of genetic testing undertaken by you or your close relatives.
SIMON SANTOW: Isn't there a certain irony in all of this that genetic testing of course is completely voluntary and if you didn't find out, you couldn't be discriminated against? KRISTINE BARLOW-STEWART: Yes, and of course that's one of the concerns that we have. In two cases in this study we now have confirmed evidence that fear of discrimination by insurance companies and other perhaps employers are preventing people from accessing genetic testing and deriving the benefits that they may get from that and then this is a very concerning issue.
SIMON SANTOW: Experts expect the problem of genetic discrimination to grow with the popularity of genetic testing and screening at a time when medical science is evolving and becoming even more sophisticated.
news source : http://www.abc.net.au/
HIBERNIAN Aviva yesterday said it expected to increase car insurance premiums by at least 7.5pc this year despite the deepening recession. The insurance giant's chief executive Stuart Purdy made the comments as he revealed a 50pc collapse in the company's annual operating profits, to €181m (€203m).
The poorer result included a €40m hit for weather-related claims, a multi-million euro provision for redundancies and a "5pc to 7pc" fall in average premiums, Mr Purdy said. Figures from UK parent company Aviva also showed the Irish division made losses of £4m on its core general and health insurance underwriting business last year, against profits of £101m in 2007.
Describing the result as "solid", Mr Purdy said increases in general insurance premiums were "needed" to deal with a 30pc rise in claims over the past year and significant falls in premiums over the past five years. "We're seeing an increase in 'own damage' claims and we're seeing people claim for things they maybe wouldn't have claimed for before the downturn," said Mr Purdy.
news source : http://www.independent.ie/
Five million Britons will reduce spending this year by cutting back on their insurance cover, it was learned in a recent LV= survey. Of that number, 2.2 million, or nearly 45 per cent, said that they would be reducing or cancelling their home insurance cover, in order to reduce their overall spending. The next most likely to be cut is flood risk insurance, with 29 per cent of the respondents in the study indicating that it would be the first aspect of their policy to go. This result was somewhat surprising, given the significant increase in flood damage claims in the past few years, with amounts averaging £17,000 per claim.
John O’Roarke, who is the managing director of LV= general insurance, commented: “Home contents insurance is not legally required but anyone who has suffered a flood or break in will know how important it is to have cover in place.” Motorists who are feeling the impact of the credit crunch are saying that they plan to cancel their comprehensive cover to say on spending. Over the last year, there was a 10 per cent increase in motorists choosing third party fire and theft insurance as opposed to comprehensive cover when they renewed their policies.
According to the findings of the LV= study, this figure will likely increase, as 37 per cent of the respondents stated they planned to cut back on car insurance costs in 2009. Twenty-two per cent have indicated that they will reduce or eliminate travel insurance cover as well. Thanks to www.financemarkets.co.uk for the above quotes, for more information on this article please visit their website.
news source : http://news.carrentals.co.uk/
As the credit crunch hits Britain harder it has been revealed that nearly a quarter of British travellers are no longer keen on taking out travel insurance before heading off abroad. According to the study from American Express many of the travellers, who try to escape the tough times in the country by going on holiday, only search for last minute holiday deals.
The insurance firm reminded that by not having a valid travel cover with them while abroad, such travellers are putting themselves at risk. It also explained that medical issues, flight cancellation or the loss of or damage to luggage could suddenly occur and be followed by huge costs, which may have to be paid for from the travellers’ own pocket if they are not covered. Head of American Express Insurance Services, Chris Rolland said people who have adequate insurance cover stand to enjoy their holidays, home or abroad, as they are rest assured that they are fully protected in the event of any eventuality.
news source : http://www.onlyfinance.com/
Following a report that nearly 60% of British travellers are unaware of ESTA - the compulsory, new US visa requirement - EssentialTravel.co.uk today cautions that any traveller denied entry into the US, because they lack the necessary travel documents, will not be covered by their travel insurance.
As of now, anyone travelling to the US under their visa waiver scheme, must register online for the new Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA), at least 72 hours before they go. Any traveller who has not been pre-approved under the ESTA scheme, will almost certainly be prevented from boarding their flight in the UK, or be denied access into the USA by Customs officials upon arrival.
“Sadly ignorance is no excuse”, says Stuart Bensusan, Insurance Director at EssentialTravel.co.uk. “We don’t expect US Immigration officials are going to be lenient to anyone who turns up without the necessary clearance. And anyone who forfeits their holiday - flight, accommodation, cruise etc… - because they don’t have an ESTA, won’t be able to claim on their travel insurance: it’s their responsibility to secure the necessary travel documentation.’’
Stuart Bensusan urges anyone lucky enough to be travelling to Washington to witness Barack Obama’s historic inauguration ceremony next Tuesday (20th January), or any part of the US in the foreseeable future, to apply for an ESTA immediately at https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta
news source : http://www.easier.com
AN Isle of Man family's dream ski holiday hit the skids after a visa fiasco. John Middlemas's Columbian partner Luz Garcia and daughter Oriana, 14, had never seen snow before and were looking forward to a week's skiing in Zermatt, Switzerland. But their holiday plans were dashed when they checked in at Ronaldsway Airport on December 20 to be told that Luz and Oriana now required a visitor visa to enter Switzerland and so they could not board their Flybe flight. Computer programmer John, 54, said from the family's home in Spaldrick Avenue, Port Erin: 'The law was changed on December 12 without proper notice so that Schengen visas would now be required for entry to Switzerland.
'My partner and daughter are alien British residents and no visa was required when I checked the continental.com airline website page on November 27 when I booked the holiday myself. 'I was not aware of any change in the law. Therefore there was nothing I could have done and we lost our holiday. 'I phoned the Swiss Embassy and they are getting calls every day from other people who also lost their holiday.' The European Union decision to change to Schengen visas was only taken on November 28, giving just 15 days' notice. Mr Middlemas added: 'It is ridiculous! They could have given three months' notice and made the changeover after the ski season. It defies common sense.'
He said he could have lost £3,000, which will not be covered by his travel insurance and he now plans to seek compensation from the Swiss government and the EU – but conceded: 'It is doubtful they will pay. 'My holiday insurance policy does not cover visa related problems even though I made no mistake. Flybe will not refund the flight money. The Swiss train service will not refund the Swiss Transfer Tickets I bought. My approximate loss may be £3,000 depending if the hotel debits my credit card as they said they would due to late cancellation. 'Worse than any monetary loss is the loss of the holiday since my partner and daughter have never seen the snow and we were all looking forward to it. I personally feel like I have suffered a robbery or a trauma.
'The experience at airport check in was extremely stressful since I did not believe the airport staff were correct in their refusal since I saw only a few weeks ago that no visa was required. 'I believe the 15 days' notice of changeover to be an extremely irresponsible action causing many people to suffer. 'When the decision was finalised the Swiss Embassy could have told all UK airlines to contact all customers travelling to Switzerland about this. Then we could have cancelled early or got a visa. I am afraid this looks like negligence on their part to me.' Schengen allows non EU nationals who do not fall under the European visa waiver programme to travel on the Continent with one visa. The UK is not part of the agreement.Ruth Zumbuhl, consul at the Swiss Embassy in London said notification of the proposed changes to the visa regulations was posted on the consular website in mid October and advice to check the website had been given as far back at June. She said visas were issued free of charge from mid-November until December 11 and 1,000 people had chosen to take this up.Schengen visas were issued from December 15 and anybody turned back from the airport from that date could have a visa issued to them by the embassy within a few hours if they were able to do so, Ms Zumbuhl added. She said: 'We had some doubts about the exact date when Schengen would be implemented. It is unfortunate that it was just before Christmas.
'But it was not in our hands. We did our utmost to inform people and help them. At the end of the day, the final responsibility for obtaining up-to-date information on immigration rules rests with the traveller and the travel agent.' She advised Mr Middlemas to make a claim with the travel agents he had booked with but also gave an address that disappointed travellers could write to with their complaints – Federal Office for Immigration, Visa Section, Quellenweg 6, CH3003, Berne-Wabern, Switzerland.
news source : http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news
TONY EASTLEY: You've heard of age discrimination or discrimination on the basis of gender, but what about people suffering discrimination because of what's in their genes? A new study has found that the insurance industry is using genetic information to decide who gets cover and how much they pay.
