All good and well, but as far as I know, certain laws are in place that prevent insurance companies from actually using indicators that are "closer to the chain

All good and well, but as far as I know, certain laws are in place that prevent insurance companies from actually using indicators that are "closer to the chain of causality". E.g. poor, elderly (an now recently, male/female). It's then no surprise that they're then actually trying to find other means of determining risk factors for individuals.