Aviva's moratorium underwriting leaves out any condition for which you had symptoms, medication, diagnostic tests, treatment or advice in the five years before joining, and lets it back into cover once a continuous two-year stretch after joining passes with none of the last four of those for it. Whether that suits you better than full medical underwriting, where you declare your history on the application, turns on the dates in your own history; an FCA-authorised broker can put those dates to Aviva and to several other insurers in a single free call-back, which you request through the form here.
Aviva's five underwriting types, and where the moratorium sits
Every Aviva clause here is taken from a single document, the Healthier Solutions terms and conditions downloaded from Aviva's own site on 21 October 2026: the March 2026 edition (AV1590050_GEN6842_0326); check the terms sent with your quote. Page references give the PDF page first and the printed page second, because the two differ by two.
On PDF page 27 (printed page 25) the section on policy underwriting opens: "Your policy is subject to one of five different types of underwriting." The next sentence is "Your policy schedule will show which type of underwriting applies to you." The five are full medical underwriting, moratorium (which Aviva shortens to "mori"), continued medical exclusions, continued moratorium and medical history disregarded. A new buyer is choosing between the first two. The last three are for people moving across from another policy and are covered further down.
The five-year look-back: what Aviva counts as history
On PDF page 27 (printed page 25), Aviva's moratorium wording says it does not cover a pre-existing condition, or any related condition, if you had any of five things for it in the five years before you joined the policy: symptoms, medication, diagnostic tests, treatment or advice. Five years is counted back from the day you join. For what Aviva's definition of "pre-existing" does with an undiagnosed condition, and what it counts as advice, see how the same wording reads for a thyroid problem, which quotes both definitions.
The wording puts the check at claim time. Aviva's moratorium paragraph ends: "With mori underwriting the claims process may take a bit longer, as each time you make a claim we’ll look at your medical history, and may ask for information from your GP, to understand if your symptom or condition is new or pre-existing." So the look-back is applied claim by claim, from your GP records, rather than once at the start.
The two-year clear period: four things that must not happen
The same paragraph gives the way back in. Aviva will cover the condition if you have none of four things for it during a continuous two-year period after you join (PDF page 27, printed page 25): medication, diagnostic tests, treatment, or advice. Four, not five. The look-back list has an extra item, symptoms, which does not appear in the list for the two-year period. Read the two lists side by side on your own copy of the terms, because the difference is easy to miss.
Two points follow directly from the wording. The two years are counted after you join the policy, so contact with the condition before joining belongs to the look-back, not to this test. And the period has to be continuous. Each of the four things is listed separately, so check your history against all four, one by one, not just against treatment.
Whether a symptom on its own, with no visit, test or prescription, has any bearing on those two years is a question an FCA-authorised broker can answer, free, when they ring you back.
Can an Aviva moratorium be reviewed?
On PDF page 27 (printed page 25), the review wording sits under the heading for full medical underwriting. There Aviva says it may review a personal medical exclusion at your renewal date if you ask, will not alter or remove one for a condition it thinks is likely to need treatment in the future, and will not review some exclusions at all, a chronic condition being its example. Those sentences are quoted on the thyroid page.
The route back into cover that Aviva spells out for a moratorium is the clear period above. Whether Aviva will also look again at a moratorium decision you disagree with, or at a condition before the two years are up, is something to raise with the FCA-authorised broker on the free call-back you can request from this page.
Moratorium or full medical underwriting at Aviva
Full medical underwriting works the other way round. You tell Aviva about your history when you apply, and the wording on PDF page 27 (printed page 25) excludes a pre-existing condition unless you advised Aviva of it in writing on the application and either no exclusion was applied or the condition is not excluded under the policy. It also states that Aviva makes any exclusions it has applied available online at aviva.co.uk/myaviva or by phone. The table sets out what differs.
| Question | Moratorium (PDF page 27, printed 25) | Full medical underwriting (PDF page 27, printed 25) |
|---|---|---|
| When is your history looked at? | Each time you claim: Aviva looks at your medical history and may ask your GP for information, which Aviva says may make the claims process take a bit longer. | At application, from what you tell Aviva in writing. |
| What leaves a condition out? | Any of five things for it in the five years before you joined. | A personal exclusion Aviva applies, or a condition you did not declare. |
| How does a condition come back in? | A continuous two years after joining with none of four things for it. | Aviva may review a personal medical exclusion at renewal if you ask, but will not alter or remove one for a condition it thinks likely to need treatment in future, and will not review some, a chronic condition for example. |
Which route suits you comes down to questions about your own history. How long ago was your last contact with each condition, and do you want exclusions stated before you join or tested at claim time? Which of the two Aviva would offer on your quote is for the quote to show. One rule treats the two together: for pregnancy complications, Aviva pays for the listed conditions only if they occur at least ten months after you join, on either route (PDF page 14, printed page 12). The detail is on the pregnancy waiting-period page.
Arriving from another policy: continued moratorium and medical history disregarded
Three of the five types are for members who transfer to Healthier Solutions from another policy. Continued medical exclusions (PDF page 28, printed page 26) is for those who were fully medically underwritten before: Aviva applies the exclusions the previous insurer applied, and may add new ones based on your application answers. Continued moratorium (PDF page 28, printed page 26) applies the same five-year and two-year tests as the standard moratorium, but counted from an initial date of cover rather than from joining Aviva. Aviva writes: "Your initial date of cover is the date you started cover with your first insurer (provided there has been no break in cover since then)." On that wording, time since your first insurer's start date is what counts, as long as there was no break in cover, which is why a gap between the old policy and the new one deserves a date check before you move.
Medical history disregarded is the third: "We do not apply any personal medical exclusions to your policy because of pre-existing conditions." It is for members who were on that basis on another policy. For how that route works across insurers, see private health insurance underwriting explained; if you are weighing a move, switching provider sets out what to check first.
Dates to gather before you pick a route
- When did you last have symptoms, medication, a test, treatment or advice for each condition you have had? Write down the month and year.
- Is there a condition you would only want covered if it stays clear for two years, and could you wait that long?
- Does the quote name the underwriting type, and does the policy schedule match it?
- If you are moving from another insurer, is there any break between the end of the old policy and the start of the new one?
With those dates written down, you can ask through this page's form for an FCA-authorised broker to ring you; the call is free, and the dates can be set against Aviva and several other insurers, though not the whole market.
How other insurers' moratoria differ
Each insurer sets its own look-back and its own clear period, and the wording differs in small ways that matter. AXA Health's pre-existing conditions terms, Vitality's choice between the two routes and how insurers treat a condition you already have each set out one insurer's version. None of them should be read across to Aviva.
Aviva underwriting, answered briefly
How does Aviva health insurance underwriting work?
Aviva uses one of five types, and the policy schedule shows which one applies to you (PDF page 27, printed page 25). A new buyer's choice is between moratorium, where history is checked when you claim, and full medical underwriting, where you disclose it on the application.
Is Aviva full medical underwriting available on every policy?
Which type applies is shown on your policy schedule, so ask whoever is quoting you to name the type the price assumes.
Does Aviva have medical limits under a moratorium?
The moratorium wording leaves out conditions you had contact with in the five years before joining; it is not a cap on what you can claim. Benefit limits are a separate part of the terms, and the amounts on your own quote are the ones that apply.
Can Aviva disregard my medical history?
Aviva has a medical history disregarded type, but the wording on PDF page 28 (printed page 26) is for members who were on that basis on another policy and then transferred. A new buyer should not assume it is open to them.