Full medical underwriting

Underwriting where you declare your medical history and the insurer decides cover up front.

You complete a medical declaration and the insurer sets out any exclusions, premium loadings or acceptance terms before cover starts. The advantage is certainty: you know at the outset what is and is not covered. The disadvantage is that the application takes longer and an exclusion applied this way can be permanent. It suits people with a medical history who want the position settled before they rely on the policy.

Guides that use this term

• Moratorium vs full medical underwriting: what’s the difference?
• How does medical underwriting work?
• Heart conditions and insurance: cover, underwriting and claims
• Private health insurance in London: hospitals, costs and choices
• Private health insurance in Manchester and the North West
• Private health insurance in Birmingham and the Midlands
• Can you get health insurance with a pre-existing condition?
• Health insurance for over-50s: what changes and what to check