The world of private health insurance can be confusing – especially when it comes to decoding provider terms and conditions surrounding chronic and pre-existing medical conditions. Here at The Health Insurance Specialists, we’re experts when it comes to finding policies which match our customer’s needs, and – we do it for free.
To help, we’ve put together this guide which explains everything you need to know about finding private medical cover if you have a chronic or pre-existing medical condition.
A pre-existing medical condition is an illness, disease or injury which falls into one of the following categories:
You have received treatment, medication or advice on it – in the last 5 years
You have experienced symptoms, which may not have been diagnosed, in the previous 5 years
A chronic medical condition is a disease, illness or injury which falls into one or more of the following categories:
It requires long-term treatment, to manage symptoms
It requires rehabilitation or care training
It has no known cure
It comes back or is likely to come back
It means you require ongoing or long-term monitoring and care (i.e. consultations, examinations, check-ups)
Most chronic medical conditions are not covered by health insurance providers, but some do offer short-term cover plans for unexpected flare-ups of chronic conditions and the treatment this might require – to stable a person’s condition.
Health insurance is to provide peace of mind and cover when unforeseen medical conditions happen – after the start of a policy.
It is not to cover pre-existing or chronic conditions. If you want health insurance to cover unforeseen medical conditions, you have 2 options:
Full media underwriting (FMU) is when you provide a health insurance provider your entire medical history – in detail. You will often be sent a questionnaire and will be asked to grant a provider with access to your medical records.
Providers use this information to weigh out the risks of covering you – and how much your policy will cost, taking your medical history and condition into account. They will also use this information to confirm with you if they can cover any existing medical conditions – and which treatments / future illnesses the policy will cover and pay for.
This means you will not be asked to provide medical history to start a policy or coverage. Instead, if you make a claim, an insurer will then ask to look at your medical history and will use this to decide if they will pay for your treatment.
If your policy does not include pre-existing conditions and you try to claim for this type of treatment, your insurer has the right to reject your claim.
Here at The Health Insurance Specialists – we’re proud of expert, friendly team and the help they can provide. If you have a chronic or pre-existing medical condition, we can help you find the cover you want and can afford.
We have access to the whole of the UK market and can search and compare well-known providers for you. Sit back and relax as we do the hard work and send the quotes to you to choose from. Our quotes are always no-obligation – and free. To find cover to suit your health needs call us on 0808 10 18 999 or fill in our online form.
