Exeter Friendly Society has announced a new fixed two-year moratorium, available on their ‘Health Cover for Me’ and ‘Health & Stuff’ plans from July 2010.

The moratorium will be open to new applicants aged 65 or younger, provided they have no history of heart disease, stroke or cancer, nor had a joint replacement.

This is a very significant development in the UK PMI market. Hitherto, PruHealth are the only insurer to have offered a fixed moratorium, with other insurers offering a ‘rolling’ moratorium, whereby excluded conditions only regain eligibility for benefit if they go for a continuous two-year period without presenting symptoms or requiring advice, treatment or medication. With a fixed moratorium, pre-existing conditions are automatically covered after two years, even if they have required treatment in the interim.

When PruHealth introduced their moratorium in late 2004, the broker community speculated as to whether any other insurers would follow suit. In the event, it has taken over five years for another insurer to follow Pru’s lead. This is a statement of intent from Exeter Friendly, who have also joined Bupa and PruHealth in offering industry-leading cancer cover on their newer plans.