Moratorium underwriting

Moratorium underwriting is an approach often used for private medical insurance. Instead of completing detailed health questions when you apply, recent pre-existing conditions are automatically excluded, typically those you have had symptoms, treatment, or advice for in the few years before the policy started.

Those excluded conditions can become covered later if you go a continuous period, often two years, without symptoms, treatment, medication, or advice for them. This makes moratorium quick to set up, but it means cover for past conditions is conditional rather than confirmed at the outset.

The alternative is full medical underwriting, where you answer health questions up front and the insurer confirms what is and is not covered from the start. Each approach has trade-offs, so it is worth understanding which a policy uses before you buy.