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Health Insurance

What is a health insurance exclusion?

Depending on your medical history, you may find an exclusion on your health insurance.

What is an exclusion

If you've just submitted an application for health insurance and have ended up with an exclusion on your policy, don't be too concerned about it. In our experience, most people that start a health insurance plan end up with some kind of exclusion on their policy for a pre existing condition. This isn't always the case, especially if the person taking out the cover is relatively young – however, most people have some existing issue that the insurer can't cover.

Exclusions on your policy are totally normal, but it doesn't mean that they have to last forever!
If you take out a policy and the insurer has placed an exclusion on it for an existing issue, it's important to be aware that you can ask them to review and remove the exclusion if the particular health issue gets better in the future.

Insurers are a cautious bunch for good reason. They need to see an extended period of time where you are totally symptom and treatment free. These waiting periods will depend on the particular issue, however, waiting somewhere between 12 and 36 months will do the trick.

If you have a policy with an exclusion, and the issue that prompted it has cleared up, then make sure you raise this with your insurer - or if you're with LifeDirect, let us know and we'll take care of things for you.

You can start your own free health insurance quote here to get an idea of what you'd be paying. Or if you'd like to get in touch, you can chat with us using our livechat on the LifeDirect homepage, or by giving us a call on 0800 800 400.

Disclaimer: Please note that the content provided in this article is intended as an overview and as general information only. While care is taken to ensure accuracy and reliability, the information provided is subject to continuous change and may not reflect current development or address your situation. Before making any decisions based on the information provided in this article, please use your discretion and seek independent guidance.

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