Does ukraine need a specific regulation related to the applying of genetic information for risk assessment in insurance?

Introduction. The article examines the specifics and role of genetic information for insurance risk assessment in the life insurance market in Ukraine. Problem Statement. The insurance market developments of different countries are increasingly characterized by the adoption of specific regulations regarding the features and conditions of use of genetic information. Therefore, the issue of regulating the rights and obligations of all participants in insurance relations regarding the use of such information of future owners of insurance policies for underwriting in insurance requires a comprehensive solution taking into account the interests of all parties. The purpose of the research is to evaluate the necessity of application of specific regulations on the insurance market, specifically in the field of using genetic data for insurance purposes. Methods. The sources of materials were scientific publications, analytical studies, as well as legislation in the field of regulation of the use of genetic information for the assessment of insurance risks. The research paper used the following empirical methods, such as analysis, synthesis, grouping, description, comparison, theoretical generalization. Results. The results show that currently some risks exist in Ukraine: firstly, the genetic discrimination, since most life insurance companies are interested in the genetic information of policyholders, and can request it from any third parties: therefore, there is a possibility of using it to assess insurance risk; secondly, an information asymmetry, which is a consequence of greater awareness of insurance companies about the insurance risks than that of the policyholders. After all, policyholders may not inform the insurance company about all the genetic data (for example, the results of genetic studies) that describe their genetic predisposition to future changes in health. Conclusions. This study substantiated factors which confirm the relevance of introducing legislative regulation regarding the use of genetic information (including the results of genetic analyzes) for underwriting in insurance.