A pre-existing condition is a medical condition which has been diagnosed, has required medical treatment or for which you have sought medical advice or symptoms have occurred in a period immediately prior to applying for the plan. Most health plans do not pay for the treatment of pre-existing conditions.

If you have a medical condition that may come back, the insurance company may cover you, but exclude that condition, reviewing the possibility for inclusion into the plan in later years.

There are a number of medical conditions which you may not be able to have covered under insurance plans. You are not normally able to secure cover for an illness you are presently suffering, or have already had in the recent past. These are known as pre-existing conditions.