The Concordat and Moratorium on Genetics and Insurance has been extended.
The agreement means thousands of people who have genetic tests for conditions such as Alzheimer's and cancer will continue to benefit from insurance terms disregarding the tests.
The agreement between the Government and the Association of British Insurers, continues to guarantee that anyone who has had a predictive test to assess their susceptibility to genetic conditions, such as breast and ovarian cancer, can take out significant insurance cover without disclosing the results.
The moratorium has been extended to 2017 and sets out that all future reviews of the agreement will take place 3 years before the provisional end date.
This will give consumers enough time to prepare if there are any changes.
The agreement has also been simplified to make it easier to understand. The next planned review will be held in 2014.
Anne Milton, Public Health Minister, commented: "This is an excellent agreement that has benefited many consumers.
"The extension and strengthening of it will make sure that the public continue to have the confidence to use predictive genetic tests while being reassured that they can still get insurance."
