What do private medical insurers consider as pre-existing conditions?
I have been considering health insurance and speaking to friends understand that pre-existing medical are likely to be excluded from cover. What do they consider serious enough to be excluded?
Answered by Andrew Jenkinson
A pre-existing medical condition can be defined as a condition which an individual received care, treatment or medical advice for, it is true pre-existing medical conditions tend not to be covered under a private health insurance plan. At application stage there are two routes you are able to take in terms of underwriting to confirm what, if any condition can be considered pre-existing and excluded from the plan.
What are my underwriting options?
The first option is to underwrite the plan on a moratorium basis, moratorium underwriting simple means you agree to set up the plan on the basis that any medical condition you have suffered in the past 5 years would not be covered for at least the first two years of the plan. If in those first two years of holding the policy you do not suffer or receive treatment for a particular pre-existing condition it would then be re-included within your plan.
Alternatively the health plan can be fully medically underwritten (FMU), at application stage you would declare your medical history and any existing or past conditions will be considered by the insurer and a decision made whether to exclude from the medical plan.
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