What is continued underwriting?
When you apply for health insurance for the first time, you will usually be asked how you want your medical history to be assessed. This is known as underwriting, and you usually have two options.
Full medical underwriting is when you complete a health questionnaire when applying for cover. The insurer assesses your health and may exclude some existing health conditions from your policy. With moratorium underwriting, your medical history is assessed only if you make a claim. If you claim for a condition you had before you took out the policy, the claim may be declined.
But when you switch health insurance providers, underwriting is very different. That’s because insurers often let you move over to them on the basis of continued underwriting.
Continued underwriting means you can switch private health insurance providers without having to start from scratch. The aim is to help maintain continuity of cover, particularly for conditions that have already been assessed under your current policy.
There are two types of continued underwriting: continued moratorium (CMORI) and continued personal medical exclusions (CPME).
Continued moratorium (CMORI) underwriting
If your current policy uses moratorium underwriting, you may be able to switch providers on a continued moratorium basis.
If you took your policy out under moratorium underwriting, the insurer will look at your medical history to see if you had symptoms, treatment, medication or medical advice for the condition for a set period before the policy started. That’s likely to be three or five years, depending on the insurer. If you did, the condition is likely to be excluded, and the claim won’t be met.
However, the condition may become eligible for cover later if you complete a continuous period of being symptom-free and not receiving treatment, which is usually two years from the start of your policy.
With continued moratorium underwriting, however far you are along that period is usually carried over to a new insurer when you switch. You don’t have to start a qualifying period again.
What this looks like in real life
Imagine you have had a moratorium policy for one year, and before your policy started you had a shoulder problem that needed treatment. Since your policy began, you have had no symptoms, no treatment and no medical advice for that shoulder.
If you switch to a new insurer using CMORI underwriting , that first year of being symptom-free will usually still count. So instead of needing two full new years from the start of your new policy, you may only need one more year without symptoms, treatment or advice before that shoulder condition could become eligible for cover.
Who CMORI might suit
This option may suit you if you already have a moratorium policy and don’t want to lose the progress you’ve made towards covering a past condition.
Continued personal medical exclusions (CPME) underwriting
If your current policy was taken out with full medical underwriting, you may be able to switch insurers on a continued personal medical exclusions basis.
The key benefit here is that you have already provided your full medical history when you arranged your original policy. Your new insurer will typically rely on the information already assessed and carry forward the underwriting terms from your previous provider. This means any existing exclusions will continue on the same basis, subject to your new plan terms. In some cases, the new insurer could apply further exclusions depending on their assessment.
There is another important benefit of CPME. It can help maintain continuity of cover for eligible acute conditions that have developed since your original policy began. This can be particularly relevant where you have received treatment and would otherwise risk the condition being reassessed as pre-existing when moving to a new insurer.
It is important to note that this applies to acute conditions that typically respond to treatment over a defined period. If you have a chronic condition that requires ongoing management, this will usually be excluded by all insurers, and CPME does not change that position.
What this looks like in real life
Say you have had your fully medically underwritten policy for a few years and your premiums have increased, so you decide to look for a better deal. Since taking out your policy, you have developed a new acute condition and have received treatment for it under your current insurer.
Without CPME, a new insurer would usually reassess your full medical history and may treat this as a pre-existing condition, which could result in it being excluded from cover.
With CPME, your existing terms are carried over when you switch. This means your new insurer may allow ongoing cover for eligible acute conditions that developed since your original policy began, depending on their terms and assessment.
Who it might suit
This option may suit you if you already have full medical underwriting and want to switch providers without repeating the full application process.
It can be particularly helpful if you are looking to save time, as your medical history has already been assessed and recorded. It may also appeal if you are comfortable with your existing exclusions continuing in the same way, while maintaining continuity of cover where possible for eligible acute conditions.
Do I have to stick with my current underwriting type?
When you switch to a different insurer, you do not have to keep the same underwriting type. You can choose a different approach if it better suits your needs at the point you move.
For example, you might be looking to move from full medical underwriting to moratorium underwriting if you have a pre-existing condition that is excluded from your existing policy. By taking out a new moratorium plan, it could potentially become eligible for cover again after a symptom-free period, typically two years.
However, restarting underwriting from scratch when you already hold an existing policy may leave you worse off, particularly if your current terms are more favourable. If you are thinking about switching underwriting types, be sure to speak to a specialist adviser who can review your options and give you impartial advice.
The right choice for you will depend on your medical history, your priorities and how you want your cover to work going forward.
Getting help with underwriting choices
Choosing how to switch your health insurance is an important decision, especially if you want to protect existing cover or avoid starting again unnecessarily.
At Money Service, our specialist health insurance advisers can talk you through your options and explain how continuing your underwriting could work in your situation. They’ll also compare policies from leading UK insurers to help you find the right fit.
As part of the service, which is completely free, we can help with:
Establishing whether you could switch to CMORI or CPME from your existing policy.
Helping you understand how your existing cover may transfer based on your recent medical history.
Comparing policies from leading UK insurers to find the right cover and claims approach for you.
Checking for any provider deals or offers that would make a switch even better value.
Helping you decide whether to keep your current underwriting or choose a new one.
Arranging everything on your behalf for a completely hassle-free experience.