07/12/2007 (Agence Europe) - A seminar which closed on Wednesday 5 December in Strasbourg identified problems and suggested areas for reflection, to allow the Steering Committee on Bioethics (CDBI) to take position on the need for, and the potential form to be taken by, a European legal instrument on genetic tests in the field of insurance. The representatives of insurance companies stated that they were willing to comply with the ban on carrying out genetic tests for non-medical purposes, as stated in article 12 of the Convention of Oviedo. The use, for the purposes of insurance, of the results of genetic tests carried out for health purposes raises several questions: - the need for consultation and dialogue between the sectors concerned- insurance companies, reinsurance companies, health care professionals, patience and consumers; - cover from public insurance systems for dependence, which is set to affect a growing number of people; - the legitimacy and proportionality of predictive medical examinations; - assessing predictivity and interpreting tests concerning multifactorial diseases. (O.J.)