A lot of people worry about pre-existing conditions they have when looking for a health insurance policy. Some count themselves out by account of their illness, be it diabetes or cancer. This does not always reflect the reality of how health insurance companies think. As to whether pre-existing medical conditions would be covered under a new medical insurance cover, this will very much depend on the nature of the condition, how long you have had it, what treatment you have had or are still having and other factors which may need to be taken into account by the health insurance company.

A pre-existing condition is an active condition that has been treated within the last year to five years (depending on the condition) and there is a gap in medical insurance. So if you were diagnosed with some disease eleven years ago, but have not been treated for five years, even with a gap in insurance, you do not have a pre-existing condition.

When insurance companies refer to pre-existing conditions what they are talking about is any serious, irreversible and/or terminal illness that won't dissipate and will cost them a lot of money increasing toward the end of the insured's life. Examples include massive heart damage or having been installed a pacemaker, AIDS, viral menengitis, Type A Diabetes, cirrhosis of the liver, or Acute Asthma in patients older than age 65. Almost any type of serious brain abnormality such as an AVM, Chronic Brain Tumors regardlesss if it is mallignant, benign, or terminated will almost always constitute a pre-existing condition, naturally.

It is absolutely imperative that you disclose to your health insurance company/plan provider, before an insurance contract is concluded, any fact or circumstance which is known to you (or which ought to be known to you) which may affect the terms of your policy. It is especially important to disclose any Pre-existing Medical Conditions, where required, on an application form.

Non-disclosure of required information to your health insurance company may lead to a future claim being denied or the cancellation of it. Even if a condition has improved recently, its origin needs to be noted and this is important because if the policy is made invalid when you need it most, it will not just impact on you but your family as well.With regards to how an insurer providing health insurance cover will treat cover for any pre-existing condition, this will be directly influenced by the type of underwriting employed by an insurer or plan provider. This is either on a "Full Medical Underwriting " or a "Moratorium" basis.

Where an insurance plan is "Fully Medically Underwritten", medical history is disclosed on the application form. This is then assessed upon submission to the insurer, by that health insurance provider's underwriters on a case by case basis.

A Moratorium is a waiting period that must pass by before claims for pre-existing conditions may become qualified under a new Private Medical Insurance plan. Under the "Moratorium" system of underwriting, it may well be that pre-existing medical conditions may never be covered but health insurance cover could still be given for new and unrelated illnesses and diseases.