Pacific Life Insurance Company Breached Illinois Genetic Privacy Law, Class Action Claims

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An Illinois consumer claims in a proposed class action that Pacific Life Insurance Company and Pacific Life & Annuity Company have violated his genetic privacy rights.

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The 12-page lawsuit says that Pacific Life, as part of its underwriting process, required the plaintiff, an applicant for life insurance coverage, to undergo a physical examination during which he was asked to disclose his family medical history. The suit alleges that the insurer then unlawfully used this protected health information to assess the man’s eligibility for life insurance coverage and calculate his premiums.

The case contends that Pacific Life’s conduct violated the Illinois Genetic Information Privacy Act (GIPA), which prohibits insurers from using protected health data—including family medical history—for underwriting purposes.

The GIPA was enacted in part to control insurance companies’ use of sensitive genetic data and guard against the “potential for harmful discrimination that such information may encourage among insurers,” the complaint shares.

However, despite the GIPA’s regulations, Pacific Life continues to request that prospective and current customers provide their family medical histories for use in determining their coverage eligibility and premiums, the filing charges.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone who applied for insurance coverage with Pacific Life in Illinois and from whom the insurer, or an agent acting on its behalf, has requested and/or obtained family medical history or other genetic information according to the companies’ records during the applicable statute of limitations period.

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