Glossary

• Acute condition — A condition that starts suddenly and is expected to respond to treatment and resolve.
• Chronic condition — A long-term condition needing ongoing management rather than a course of treatment that ends.
• Pre-existing condition — A condition you had, or had symptoms or treatment for, before your policy started.
• Moratorium underwriting — Underwriting that automatically excludes recent medical history for a set period, usually five years.
• Full medical underwriting — Underwriting where you declare your medical history and the insurer decides cover up front.
• Continued personal medical exclusions — Switching insurer while carrying your existing exclusions across, rather than being underwritten afresh.
• Excess — The amount you pay towards a claim before the insurer pays anything.
• Outpatient cover — Cover for consultations, tests and scans where you are not admitted to hospital.
• Inpatient treatment — Treatment where you are admitted to a hospital bed and stay at least one night.
• Hospital list — The set of hospitals your policy will pay for you to be treated at.
• Pre-authorisation — Getting the insurer’s agreement to treatment before it happens.
• Referral — A GP’s letter naming a specialist, which most policies require before they will pay.
• Referral to treatment pathway — The NHS measure of the time from referral to the start of consultant-led treatment.
• Premium — What you pay the insurer, monthly or annually, to keep the policy in force.
• No-claims discount — A reduction in premium that reflects how little you have claimed.
• Policy wording — The full contract document that decides what is and is not covered.
• Insurance product information document — A short standardised summary of what a policy covers and excludes.
• Financial Conduct Authority — The UK regulator responsible for the conduct of insurers and insurance brokers.
• Financial Ombudsman Service — The free, independent service that settles complaints between consumers and financial firms.
• Financial Services Compensation Scheme — The statutory safety net that can pay out if an authorised firm fails.
• Insurance broker — A regulated firm that arranges cover for you, usually paid commission by the insurer.
• Shortfall — The part of a private medical bill your policy does not pay, leaving you to settle it.
• Self-pay — Paying for private treatment directly, without using insurance.
• Waiting period — A set time at the start of a policy before certain benefits can be claimed.