There are generally four types of underwriting involved in a private medical insurance policy. These are:

• FMU
• MHD
• CPME
• Moratorium

Each of these effect what will be covered under your private medical insurance. It can be very daunting when an insurer or broker starts talking to you about different types of underwriting. Here is a quick guide to help you understand the basics of each of the four main types. It is worth noting that you should always read the terms and conditions of your policy where it will explain the specific underwriting you have in detail, as it can vary slightly from insurer to insurer.

 

FMU (Full Medical Underwriting)

FMU is the most simple of the four, because it ‘does what it says on the tin’. All this means is that you tell the insurer about any medical conditions (prior to the start of the policy). The insurer may then not provide cover for anything relating to the disclosed conditions. These are known as ‘exclusions’.

 

MHD (Medical History Disregarded)

MHD is also very simple. This means that the insurer ignores any previous medical conditions that you may have had when you took out your policy, as long as they are not chronic.

 

CPME (Continued Personal Medical Exclusions)

This can also be referred to as switch cover.  This means you carry across the underwriting conditions from your previous insurer to your new one. This allows you to change to a different insurer without losing cover for medical conditions which may be covered under your existing policy.

 

Moratorium

A moratorium means you don’t have to disclose your full medical history. Any medical condition for which you have had symptoms or has required advice or treatment during a certain period before the start of the policy (usually five years) will not be covered. However, the insurer will cover the conditions after a set time (usually two years) as long as you have remained symptom, advice, treatment and medication free within this period.