Law Commons^™

Time To Follow Florida: Why Gina's Definition Of "Genetic Information" Must Change In The Context Of Life Insurance, Kathryn Czekalski

Duquesne Law Review

Many Americans apply for a life insurance policy to protect their spouses and families in the event of an untimely death.¹ What if insurance companies required genetic tests as part of the application process? What if those results were used to exclude applicants or calculate premiums? Can an individual who has taken a commercial genetic test, such as the popular 23andMe, ² be forced to disclose the results to obtain an insurance policy? Surprisingly, genetic discrimination regarding life insurance decisions is currently legal in forty-nine of the fifty states.³ This Article argues that additional federal legislation to prohibit …

Civil Actions - Voir Dire - Insurance - Effect Of Insurance Company Advertising, Anna E. Dolak

Duquesne Law Review

The Supreme Court of Montana has held that an attorney may ask prospective jurors on voir dire if they have been exposed to insurance company advertisements that correlate high jury verdicts in personal injury cases with increased premiums for all insured.

Borkoski v. Yost, 594 P.2d 688 (Mont. 1979).

Prepayment Health Care Plan Enabling Acts - Are Their Restrictive Features Constitutional?, John M. Campfield

Duquesne Law Review

Illness is something which afflicts the rich as well as the poor, the affluent as well as the downtrodden. It does not choose its host according to social position, educational background, or economic status. In this century the medical sciences and the medical professions have minimized the hazards of illness. Yet the costs of preventing or curing illness, and the financial burden placed upon the victim, persists and grows.

Insurance Contracts - Waiver By Estoppel, Mark A. Rock

Duquesne Law Review

Surrender by an insured of the right to change the beneficiary of his life insurance policy creates a vested interest in the then designated beneficiary and an acceptance by the company of the insured's subsequent request to change the beneficiary constitutes a waiver of the prohibition against such change and an estoppel to deny liability to the new beneficiary.

Phillips v. Continental Assurance Co., 210 Pa. Super. 178, 231 A.2d 422 (1967), allocatur denied, 231 A.2d 422 (1967).

Uninsured Motorist Coverage: Past, Present And Future, J. Cris Soich

Duquesne Law Review

The case of Harleysville Mutual Casualty Company v. Blumling is one of first impression in Pennsylvania and concerns the interpretation of the uninsured motorist coverage statute. Before dealing with the factual situation involved in this case, certain comments must be made concerning the legislation involved and its background. Only by reviewing the history of the general problem involved in this case can one obtain an understanding of the decision of the court and an appreciation of the true effect of that decision.

Insurance - Total Disability, Bryan Campbell

Duquesne Law Review

The concept of "total disability" is clarified and expanded in Pennsylvania.

Cobosco v. Life Assurance Co. of Pennsylvania, 419 Pa. 158, 213 A.2d 369 (1965).