Health insurance q (UK)

[whatausername]

Just musing about health insurance. Might be very fortunate and able to afford it soon. The NHS is a fantastic thing but it is very stretched so if it isn't something acute and serious it can take a lot of time to be seen, even by a GP, ime.

Now a very basic q: if you take out cover with one provider - e.g. Bupa - develop a condition, claim and then switch provider instead of renewing with Bupa, will the new provider accept the condition you developed whilst with Bupa? Or will it become an exclusion because it is "pre-existing" at the time you take out cover with provider #2? Logic suggests surely the condition would not be excluded from cover by provider #2 otherwise nobody would ever switch, but sadly the world is rarely logical!

Pre-existing conditions are usually excluded.

It is possible to continue on the same terms rather than be re-underwritten.

But that would mean only those with consistently good health could ever change insurance provider

You can switch but there are questions that will be asked at switching such as any treatment planned and this may mean you have a new exclusion when you switch

Many people get "trapped" with their current provider because they can't switch and take the exclusion and the current provider has massively loaded their premiums to reflect the risk

I

Indeed. Or the pre-existing conditions are either excluded from cover or you pay a huge premium to include them.

It's not about logic, it's about private companies i.e. insurers wanting to make an actual profit.