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Health Insurance
Applying for health insurance means checking your eligibility, choosing your cover level, deciding how your medical history is assessed, and completing an application form. Most straightforward applications take 15-30 minutes, though full medical underwriting can take longer.
To apply for health insurance, you'll usually work through five stages: checking you're eligible, choosing your level of cover, deciding how your medical history will be assessed, completing the application itself, and reviewing your policy documents once you're accepted.
Once accepted, you'll receive a personalised policy schedule, an Insurance Product Information Document (IPID), and a 14-day cooling-off period during which you can cancel for a full refund if you change your mind.
Health insurance is available to most UK residents, but insurers set a few basic conditions before they'll accept an application. Checking these first can save you time before you start comparing policies.
The three most common eligibility checks are your age, where you live, and whether you're already receiving treatment for something.
If you're waiting for a specific test or referral, insurers will generally treat that as a pre-existing condition once you apply, even under moratorium underwriting. Speak to an advisor before you apply if you're part-way through an NHS referral, since timing can affect what's covered.
Before you apply
Before you fill in an application, it's worth deciding roughly what level of cover you want, since this affects which insurers and policies are worth comparing.
Basic, inpatient-only policies cover hospital stays and day-patient procedures, but typically exclude the outpatient consultations and scans used to diagnose a problem in the first place.
Mid-range policies add outpatient cover, often with an annual limit, so you're covered for specialist consultations and diagnostic tests as well as treatment.
Comprehensive policies offer the highest level of cover, usually with unlimited outpatient benefits, enhanced mental health cover and additional features like cancer cover extras and therapies.
If you're weighing up the difference in more detail, our guide comparing comprehensive and basic health insurance goes through each option more thoroughly.
Your actual premium will also depend on your age, location, smoking status, chosen excess and hospital list. An advisor can give you a personalised estimate for your circumstances before you apply. See our guide to health insurance costs for more on what affects your premium, and how choosing your excess can bring the price down.
As part of your application, you'll need to choose how the insurer assesses your medical history. This is called underwriting, and it affects both how long your application takes and what's covered from day one.
With full medical underwriting, you declare your complete medical history on the application form, usually covering the past five to ten years. The insurer reviews this and tells you exactly what's covered, excluded, or subject to an additional premium before your policy starts.
With moratorium underwriting, you don't declare your medical history at application. Instead, any condition you've had symptoms, advice or treatment for in the five years before joining is automatically excluded. After two continuous years without symptoms, advice or treatment for that condition, it may become eligible for cover.
Our dedicated guide to full medical underwriting goes through the process, and what happens if the insurer needs a GP report, in more detail.
Comparing underwriting
An advisor can talk through your medical history and explain how each insurer is likely to treat it.
Whichever underwriting method you choose, most application forms ask for a similar set of information. Having this ready before you start makes the process quicker.
If you're applying with full medical underwriting, it's worth checking your own medical records beforehand if you're unsure about dates or details. Answering every question as accurately as you can reduces the chance of a claim being disputed later.
Don't rush the medical history section if you've chosen full medical underwriting. Missing off a condition, even by accident, can put a future claim at risk. If you're not sure whether something counts as pre-existing, disclose it and let the insurer decide.
Once you know your eligibility, cover level and underwriting method, and you've got your information ready, the application itself follows a fairly consistent process across insurers.
The process
Compare policies and choose your cover level
Decide between basic, mid-range or comprehensive cover based on your budget and priorities, ideally comparing options from a wide range of insurers.
Choose your underwriting method
Decide whether to apply with full medical underwriting or moratorium underwriting, based on your medical history and how much certainty you want over your exclusions.
Complete your application
Provide your personal details, medical history if required, and answer questions about your address, occupation and smoking status.
Insurer reviews your application
The underwriting team checks your answers and may request a report from your GP if any disclosed condition needs more detail.
Receive your underwriting decision and policy documents
You'll get a personalised policy schedule, an Insurance Product Information Document (IPID), and details of any exclusions that apply.
Cover starts
Once you accept the terms and set up your first payment, your policy begins on the agreed date, with a 14-day cooling-off period if you change your mind.
Once you've submitted your application, here's what to expect.
Your application is usually processed quickly, often the same day, since there's no medical questionnaire to review. You'll receive confirmation and your policy documents shortly after.
The insurer's underwriting team reviews your answers. If anything needs clarifying, they may request a report from your GP, which can take several weeks to come back. Once complete, you'll receive an underwriting decision confirming any exclusions or additional premiums.
Whichever route you take, you'll receive a policy schedule setting out your cover, an Insurance Product Information Document (IPID) summarising key features and exclusions, and details of how to make a claim.
Most policies include a 14-day cooling-off period from when your policy starts or you receive your documents, whichever is later. During this time, you can cancel and receive a full refund if you change your mind.
How long your application takes depends mainly on your chosen underwriting method.
If you need cover to start by a specific date, it's worth applying with plenty of time to spare, particularly if you're likely to need full medical underwriting.
Speeding things up
A few avoidable errors account for most of the problems people run into when applying for health insurance.
Under full medical underwriting, leaving out a condition, even accidentally, can put a future claim at risk. Take your time and disclose anything you're unsure about rather than guessing.
Health insurance covers new conditions that arise after your policy starts. If you wait until you have symptoms before applying, that condition won't be covered. The best time to apply is while you're healthy.
The cheapest policy isn't always the best value. A slightly more expensive policy with better outpatient cover could save you far more if you need diagnosis and investigation.
If you have employer-provided health insurance, check what it actually covers before assuming you don't need anything else. Also consider what happens if you leave your job, since you may need to apply for your own policy to continue cover.
If you have a specific hospital or consultant in mind, confirm they're included on the insurer's approved list before you apply, rather than after you've already committed to a policy.
We connect you with specialist health insurance brokers who compare cover from a wide range of insurers. Access expert advice with no pressure to proceed, whether you're weighing up cover levels, deciding between underwriting methods, or working through your medical history before you apply.
We're not an insurer ourselves. We connect you with advisors who can explain the application process in plain English and help you avoid the common mistakes that delay or complicate a claim later.
Independent guidance from government-backed and industry organisations.
Common questions
You typically check your eligibility, choose a level of cover, decide whether to apply with full medical underwriting or moratorium underwriting, then complete an application with your personal details and, if needed, your medical history. The insurer reviews this and issues your policy documents once accepted.
Full medical underwriting means declaring your complete medical history upfront, so the insurer confirms your exclusions before your policy starts. Moratorium underwriting skips the medical questionnaire but automatically excludes conditions you've had symptoms or treatment for in the past five years.
A moratorium application typically takes 15-30 minutes and cover can start the next day. Full medical underwriting can take one to several weeks, particularly if the insurer needs a report from your GP.
No. Health insurance applications are based on the answers you give on the application form and, if needed, a report from your GP. A physical medical examination isn't usually required.
Yes, you can still apply. The specific condition is likely to be excluded, either named upfront under full medical underwriting or covered by a rolling exclusion under moratorium underwriting, but any new, unrelated conditions would still be covered.
Most policies include a 14-day cooling-off period from when your policy starts or you receive your documents, whichever is later. During this time, you can cancel and receive a full refund.
If you later need to claim for an undisclosed condition, the insurer can check your medical records. If it should have been declared, the claim can be refused and, in serious cases, the policy cancelled, even if the omission was accidental.
Yes, most insurers and brokers offer an online application, though you can also apply over the phone with an advisor, which can help if you have a more complex medical history to discuss.
No, a GP referral isn't needed to apply for a policy. You'll only need a GP referral later, once you have cover, if you want to see a specialist for a new symptom.
Yes, most insurers offer family policies covering you, your partner and your children on a single application, which is often cheaper than separate individual policies.
Most insurers accept new applicants up to around 75, though a small number of specialist insurers will consider older applicants. Premiums generally increase with age.
You can apply, but the condition you're waiting to be treated for will typically be excluded as a pre-existing condition, since you already have symptoms or a diagnosis before your policy starts.
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