What’s the Best Health Insurance Underwriting?
For most people there are two underwriting options available: moratorium underwriting and full medical underwriting (FMU).
Moratorium Underwriting
Moratorium underwriting is the most common form of Health Insurance underwriting.
With moratorium underwriting, any medical condition that you’ve had advice, treatment or medication for in the past 5 years will automatically be excluded from the policy if you try and claim in the future.
Many insurers use a 2 year rolling moratorium, whereby the insurer will consider any claims for medical conditions that you suffered in the 5 years running up to the date your policy started providing you’ve served 2 years on the policy without needing any medical attention for that condition.
Full Medical Underwriting
Full medical underwriting (FMU) will examine your medical history before you take out the policy.
While this means you know exactly what you are and aren’t covered for, there’s usually very little opportunity to get any exclusions arising from the underwriting process removed.
Conditions occurring more than 5 years ago aren’t generally taken into account when insurers are underwriting you on a moratorium basis. However, they will most likely be examined when being underwritten on an FMU basis.
With full medical underwriting, an insurer might not decide to exclude a minor condition having seen the medical evidence from your GP, but this condition would likely be automatically excluded if it occurred in the 5 years leading up to the policy start date if the insurer was underwriting you on a moratorium basis.
Full Medical Underwriting or Moratorium Underwriting?
If you’ve had a minor condition in the past then an insurer might decide not to exclude it on an FMU basis once they’ve seen the medical evidence. This won’t likely be the case for moratorium underwriting.
Ultimately, whether full medical underwriting is better than moratorium underwriting will depend on you and your medical history. It is absolutely critical to get this right, if you need some help please don’t hesitate to pop us a call on 02074425880 or email help@drewberry.co.uk.
How Much Does The Best Medical Insurance Cost?
Naturally the more comprehensive the cover the higher the monthly cost. For this example we have defined the best type of health insurance as the most comprehensive and require it to meet the following criteria:
- It covers inpatient and outpatient treatment in full
- It has a comprehensive nationwide hospital list
- It has comprehensive cancer cover
- It has no excess
- It includes cover for therapies and mental health
The example cost for the best private health insurance is for a single person, who is a non-smoker living in Brighton with no pre-existing health conditions.
25 Year Old
50 Year Old
£81 per month
£160 per month
The cost will vary significantly depending on where you live in the UK and your current age. If the best health cover is beyond your budget then it is important to prioritise the cover which is most important to make the policy more affordable.
If you need any help working out what the best health insurance is for you then please do not hesitate to pop us a call on 02074425880.
What Is Not Covered By Health Insurance?
Private Health Insurance is designed to cover acute illnesses which can be cured quickly and did not exist before you took out the policy. As a result there are a number of general exclusions which are not covered on any Private Health Insurance, even the best policies.
- Pre-existing Conditions
Conditions you suffered prior to taking out the the policy tend not to be covered. Depending on the underwriting you choose there are cases where they could be included after a set period, but you are best getting advice to make sure you are clear on the terms before taking out cover.
- Chronic Conditions
These are conditions which will never be cured and will need ongoing treatment such as Crohn’s disease or diabetes.
- Emergency Treatment
Most private hospitals do not have the resources to cater for emergencies, so if you suffered a heart attack or were in a road traffic accident the NHS is best placed to provide care.
- General Exclusions
There are a usually a number of blanket exclusions which tend to include problems related to drug or alcohol abuse, HIV/AIDS, ‘normal’ pregnancy, cosmetic surgery and self-inflicted injuries.
The Best Way to Set Up Health Insurance
When setting up your Health Insurance policy you can opt to go direct to an insurer or take out cover through an intermediary. It is important to recognise the difference as one provides you with a lot more protection than the other.
- Going Direct to an Insurer
If you go direct to an insurer to set up your policy it is considered a non-advised sale. As you personally have made the decision to take out this policy there is no financial protection should the policy be inappropriate – the responsibility lies on your shoulders.
- Using an Adviser
Utilising an adviser who provides an advised sale means they are responsible for the policy they help you set up. They need to understand your circumstances fully including any existing health conditions to make sure you take out the most suitable cover for your needs. If it turns out their advice was not appropriate the responsibility sits with the adviser.
Here at Drewberry we provide a fully advised service so you benefit from expert advice and know you have that additional level of protection should something go wrong. We are proud of the service we provide and our clients think so too with 2850 independent reviews on Reviews.co.uk rating us at 4.92 / 5.
How Do I Make A Claim?
Should you choose to utilise our expertise when setting up your Health Insurance policy we will be on hand to help should a claim arise. Below is an overview of the general process and what you can expect.
When to make a claim?
Once your GP has confirmed you need to be referred for tests or to see a consultant you should contact your Private Medical Insurance provider.
Your policy documents should contain contact details and the insurer’s claims process. Some insurers will have a downloadable claims form that you’ll need to send away in the post while others are entirely online.
Approving a claim
Once your claim has been submitted the insurer will check your policy to make sure you have a suitable level of cover to make the claim as well as checking eligibility of your preferred consultant.
Moratorium underwriting could hold up a claim
If you have Full Medical Underwriting the insurer should be able to approve your claim quickly given they have your full medical history. If you opted for Moratorium Underwriting the insurer may need to contact your GP and make other investigations before they can approve your claim.
It is important that you do not book in any appointments or have any treatment until your claim has been approved as you may not get reimbursed if your claim is declined.
Paying a claim
Once a claim has been approved the insurer will usually pay the private practice directly. You simply need to turn up to your appointment with your policy details and the approval number provided by your insurer.
If your policy includes an excess in most cases you will be billed by your insurer or, alternatively, you may need to pay the private practice directly.
