It's rare to be refused outright. In almost all cases you'll still be offered a policy, the condition itself may just be excluded, at least initially, rather than the whole application being declined. Under moratorium underwriting this exclusion isn't even permanent, if you go two continuous years without symptoms, treatment or advice for it, cover can kick back in automatically. Full medical underwriting gives you more certainty upfront, since the insurer confirms exactly what's excluded in writing before you join.

Under full medical underwriting, yes, you must fully and accurately disclose your medical history at the point of application, and the insurer may contact your GP for further detail. Under moratorium underwriting you don't need to declare it upfront, since a rolling 5-year look-back applies automatically instead, but it will still be reviewed if you make a related claim, so accuracy matters either way, misrepresenting your history can affect a claim later on.

Under moratorium underwriting, yes, if you go two continuous years without symptoms, treatment, medication or advice for that condition after your policy starts, it can become covered automatically. Worth knowing too, most insurers also exclude any closely associated conditions during this period, not just the exact one, so it's worth checking exactly what that covers with our broker partners. Under full medical underwriting, exclusions are less commonly reviewed automatically, though some insurers will reassess on request.

Yes, in two different ways depending on your situation. Continued Personal Medical Exclusions (CPME) carries over your specific accepted exclusions to a new insurer, regardless of your original underwriting type. If your current policy was already on moratorium terms specifically, Continued Moratorium (CMORI) is usually the better option instead, it carries over the actual moratorium clock itself, so time you've already served counts, rather than starting a fresh wait with the new insurer.

Generally, anything you've had symptoms, treatment, medication or medical advice for, including a GP consultation, in the years before your policy starts, most commonly the past 5 years under moratorium underwriting. This applies even if you were never formally diagnosed, if you sought advice or had symptoms, insurers typically still treat it as pre-existing. It's a broader definition than most people expect, worth bearing in mind when comparing cover.