What Actually Happens When You Apply
Underwriting is the process an insurer uses to assess your risk and decide what premium to charge — or whether to apply exclusions or decline cover entirely. It ranges from a short online questionnaire to a full medical examination, depending on your age, the sum insured, and the product.
What's Typically Assessed
- Personal and family medical history — including conditions your parents or siblings have had, which can matter for genetically-linked conditions
- Height, weight and lifestyle factors including smoking, alcohol use and occupation risk
- For higher sums insured, a medical exam (blood pressure, blood and urine tests) conducted by a third-party provider, often at your home or a local clinic
- For very high sums insured, potentially an ECG or more detailed specialist reports
Full Underwriting vs Default Super Cover
Standalone policies typically require full underwriting upfront, with any exclusions or loadings applied before the policy starts — meaning you know exactly what you're covered for from day one. Default super cover is often provided with minimal underwriting, but this can mean broader exclusions are only discovered at claim time, since less was assessed upfront.
Duty of Disclosure
You're required to answer underwriting questions honestly and completely to the best of your knowledge — a failure to disclose a known condition, even unintentionally, is one of the most common reasons a claim is later disputed or reduced years after the policy started.
What Happens After Underwriting
You may be offered standard terms, a loaded premium (extra cost for a specific risk factor), a specific exclusion (a condition or activity not covered), or in rarer cases a decline. It's worth asking directly what drove any loading or exclusion, since it's sometimes negotiable with additional medical evidence.
This page is for educational purposes and isn't personalised financial advice. Premiums, terms and eligibility vary by insurer, occupation and individual circumstances — always check the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) before buying.