Moratorium on Genetic Testing and Insurance

Use of Genetic Test Results in Insurance Underwriting

The Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Life Insurance Association (LIA) developed the ‘Moratorium on Genetic Testing and Insurance’ to support Precision Medicine (PM) in Singapore. The Moratorium aims to give individuals the assurance to undergo clinical genetic testing for medical care and to participate in PM research, by protecting genetic test results from use by insurers in underwriting. It applies to all LIA members that includes life insurers and reinsurers that are licensed to operate in Singapore.

The Moratorium prohibits the use of genetic test results in insurance underwriting. The Moratorium was first introduced in 2021 (“2021 Moratorium”) and was later amended and re-signed in 2025 (“2025 Moratorium”) to enhance protections for individuals undergoing genetic testing for FH under the National Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (FH) Genetic Testing Programme (“FH Programme”). This aims to support early identification and interventions for individuals with FH and forms part of MOH’s broader preventive care efforts.

The key protections of the Moratorium are summarised below.

(a) If you have never taken a genetic test, insurers cannot require or pressure you (directly or indirectly) to do so for insurance underwriting. This applies to ALL genetic tests, including diagnostic, predictive, pharmacogenetic or prenatal and newborn screening genetic tests. See Table 1 for the difference between diagnostic and predictive genetic tests.

(b) [New under the 2025 Moratorium] If you have undergone genetic testing conducted under the FH Programme, insurers are prohibited from requesting for and/or using your FH genetic test results (both diagnostic and predictive) in insurance underwriting.¹

¹ _{If you take FH genetic testing outside of the FH Programme, insurers cannot request for predictive genetic test results but may request diagnostic genetic test results.}

(c) If you have previously taken a genetic test, insurers cannot request and/or use your genetic test results in insurance underwriting (including health insurance, integrated shield plan, general insurance, group insurance and others), unless:

• If the test was a diagnostic genetic test (confirming a diagnosis), insurers can request this as part of your medical history; or

• If you are applying for (i) life, (ii) total permanent disability (TPD), (iii) long-term care (LTC), (iv) critical illness (CI), or (v) disability income insurance, insurers may request for your predictive genetic tests only if both conditions below are met:

• The sum assured/pay-out you are applying for is higher than the Approved Financial Limit set out in the Moratorium; and

• The predictive genetic test you took is one of the Approved Predictive Genetic Tests set out in the Moratorium (i.e., HTT genetic test for Huntington’s disease and BRCA1/2 genetic test for breast cancer).

(d) The Moratorium does not affect the insurers’ ability to request and/or use diagnosis or family history per current industry practice. For example, if the doctor diagnoses you with FH based on clinical examination and/or genetic tests, insurers may request for the disclosure of the diagnosis.

Moratorium

For policies signed on or after 30 June 2025, please refer to the 2025 Moratorium.

Download the 2025 Moratorium.

For policies signed from 27 October 2021 (inclusive) to 29 June 2025, please refer to the 2021 Moratorium.

Download the 2021 Moratorium.