State RegulationsCA specific✓ Verified · outline & fact-checked · Sep 2026Difficulty 2/5
An insurer learns from a medical exam that an applicant carries a genetic marker for a disease, although the applicant has no symptoms. Under California Insurance Code Sections 10146 and 10147(b), the insurer may:
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why A is correct
California law (CIC Sections 10146 and 10147(b)) prohibits insurers from refusing, limiting, or charging a different rate for life or disability coverage based solely on genetic characteristics or a genetic test result. Insurers may not use genetic information as a basis for discrimination, and applicants are protected from being penalized for genetic markers they carry without symptoms. This mirrors the broader public policy against genetic discrimination.
Why the other options are wrong
- B) Genetic markers alone do not establish that mortality risk is increased, and using them to deny coverage is statutorily prohibited.
- C) Charging a higher premium based on a genetic characteristic violates Sections 10146 and 10147(b), which forbid premium surcharges on that basis.
- D) Requiring further genetic testing to price or issue coverage would itself be a prohibited use of genetic information.
Memory hook
Your genes are off-limits: no denial, no surcharge, no forced testing, no discrimination based on genetic markers.