The recent availability of blood-based tests for amyloid plaque—a biomarker associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD)—could make it easier to diagnose AD in earlier stages of the disease. This could have important implications for life, disability, and long‑term care (LTC) insurance underwriting. Currently, AD biomarker testing is generally limited to individuals with cognitive impairment, but if testing were performed earlier in disease progression, this could result in younger individuals receiving a diagnosis of abnormal biomarkers before traditional AD symptoms are apparent.
An AD biomarker-related diagnosis code could make testing and abnormal results more visible in healthcare claims, physician documentation, and other sources that are used in underwriting practices. Over time, this information could be incorporated into traditional underwriting reviews, accelerated underwriting engines, and predictive risk models, thereby influencing individuals’ ability to purchase life, disability, or LTC insurance. This paper, commissioned by Eli Lilly, explores potential implications to underwriting practices for those three types of insurers if an individual were diagnosed with abnormal biomarkers associated with AD.
Key discussion points include the following.
- Background: Definition of AD, the progressive stages of the disease, and some history on testing.
- Current underwriting practices: Key considerations, how insurance is underwritten, and what information is used.
- Potential impact on underwriting: Analogous risk factors and precedents, and evolving risk assessment.
This report was commissioned by Eli Lilly.