The Exeter's Health+ policy can cover a condition you already have, but not automatically. Pre-existing conditions may be left out, and which of four sets of underwriting terms you join on decides what is excluded and whether it can come back into cover. If you have a medical history, that choice matters most. An FCA-authorised broker can set the four against your own history when they ring back, without charge, once you send the form on this page.
The wording below comes from The Exeter's Health+ Policy Document (MKTG762, July 2026) and its Insurance Product Information Document (MKTG770, June 2026), both published on The Exeter's website. Check the versions sent with your own quote, because terms can change.
The Exeter's pre-existing conditions definition: symptoms count without a diagnosis
The policy document defines a pre-existing condition as "Any disease, illness or injury, for which: members have received medication, advice or treatment; or members have experienced symptoms; before the start of your cover, whether or not the condition has been diagnosed."
Two things follow. A condition does not need a diagnosis to count, so symptoms you never took to a doctor can fall inside it. And advice sits beside treatment in the definition, so a conversation with a GP about something can be part of your history.
The product summary lists "Pre-existing conditions – subject to underwriting type" among the things that are not insured, and the policy document says they "may be excluded from your policy". The starting point is exclusion; the underwriting terms decide how much of your history is excluded, and for how long.
Underwriting at The Exeter: a guide to the four sets of terms
The policy document says your Policy Certificate shows which underwriting terms apply. It describes four, and the summary document says there is a choice "whether you're switching from another insurer or new to health insurance."
- Full Medical Underwriting. You give medical information with the application. Where it showed conditions The Exeter felt "would need treatment in the future", it "may have applied medical exclusions", which appear on the certificate. Those named exclusions are the list to read closely.
- Standard Moratorium. A rule on your recent history applies instead; the next section sets it out.
- Continued Personal Medical Exclusions. The Exeter says it carries across the personal medical exclusions from your previous insurer, and it may add more.
- Continued Moratorium. The moratorium rule is counted from the start of your previous policy rather than the new one, and The Exeter may add further exclusions.
Other insurers word the same choice differently: see Aviva's moratorium terms, Bupa's underwriting and AXA's pre-existing condition rules. Which of The Exeter's four would suit your history is something a broker can explain when they ring you back.
How a moratorium condition can become covered
The Standard Moratorium wording is: "Benefits will not be available for treatment of any condition suffered if a member had symptoms, medication, treatment or advice in connection with that condition in the five years before the start of your policy. However, we will cover a pre-existing condition if a member does not have symptoms, medication, treatment or advice in connection with that condition during a continuous two year period after the start of your policy."
That gives two clocks. The first looks back five years from the day cover starts and decides which conditions are caught. The second runs forward from the same date: a caught condition becomes eligible only after a continuous two-year stretch with no symptoms, medication, treatment or advice for it. Symptoms, medication, treatment or advice for the condition in that stretch are the events the clause names, so a condition that keeps needing attention may stay excluded while it does.
The page on whether insurers cover a condition you already have explains why this pattern is common across the market.
If you switched: the Continued Moratorium
The Continued Moratorium uses the same two periods but anchors them to the old policy: five years "before the start of your previous policy with a different insurer", and a "continuous two year period after the start of your previous policy". Time on your previous cover can therefore count towards the two clear years. Your own dates decide the result, so confirm how they work out in writing before you move.
Claims on a moratorium policy
Underwriting also matters at the point of claim. The policy document says that on moratorium terms The Exeter "may request up to five years of medical records in English to determine whether the condition was pre-existing or not, or whether there have been two clear years free of the condition. If this cannot be provided, we may not be able to pay a claim."
- Records matter when you claim, not only when you buy, so keep dates of GP visits and prescriptions that touch a condition.
- Claim assessment can take longer, because the document says further medical information may be required depending on your underwriting option.
- Claims must be authorised before any consultation, test or treatment; without that, the document warns the claim may not be paid.
Pre-existing and chronic are two different tests
Passing the underwriting test does not mean unlimited cover for a long-term condition. The policy document says: "This policy covers treatment of acute conditions. It does not cover chronic conditions." Its definition of chronic includes an illness that "needs ongoing or long-term monitoring through consultations, examinations, check-ups and/or tests", "continues indefinitely" or "comes back or is likely to come back".
For a chronic condition, The Exeter says it will pay for investigations leading to a diagnosis and treatment to stabilise the condition for a maximum of three months, and not for treatment after that. An acute episode is treated differently: the document's own example is that an asthma attack leading to hospitalisation would be classed as one.
So a clear moratorium period and cover for a long-term condition are separate questions. Cancer is handled apart: the document says it does not consider cancer a chronic condition, and the product summary describes cancer cover as running "with no time or financial limit" once diagnosed. Whether an earlier cancer history is excluded under your underwriting terms is a question for your certificate.
Checking your Policy Certificate line by line
The certificate holds the details of your cover and any personal exclusions. When a quote or renewal arrives, work through this list:
- Which of the four underwriting terms it names, and from what date.
- Any personal medical exclusion, in full, and whether it names one condition or a wider area.
- If you switched, the start date of the old policy and how the moratorium periods are counted from it.
- Whether a condition you manage with regular check-ups would be treated as chronic whatever the underwriting result.
- Renewal: the document says you can expect to renew year after year while Health+ is offered, and the page on Exeter renewal prices covers how the premium moves.
Have the old policy schedule, the dates of your last symptoms or treatment and a list of repeat prescriptions to hand. Those details belong on the phone call, not in the form.
GP records and flare-ups
Can The Exeter ask for my GP records?
On a moratorium policy it says it may request up to five years of records when a claim is made. It also says that if a referral comes from a GP who is not at your registered practice, it may need to contact your registered practice for information about your medical history.
Does a flare-up of asthma or diabetes count as pre-existing or chronic?
Possibly both. The policy document names asthma and diabetes as chronic conditions, and separately says pre-existing conditions may be excluded. Whether an episode is acute and whether the underlying condition is excluded depend on your terms and the facts, so ask for both answers in writing.
Where to go next
Find the underwriting term on your certificate or quote and write down any condition you want covered. The form here sets up a no-cost phone call with a broker, and that call is the place to raise the condition.