When you apply for medical insurance, you go through a process called "underwriting". Even though "group" health insurance plans, such as the ones you are offered by an employer, are guaranteed to be given to you regardless of your health, they still often perform medical underwriting to monitor their risks. But when we speak of "individual" medical insurance plans, that medical underwriting can result in your being charged more than the standard or preferred rate. In some cases, medical underwriting can even result in your being denied coverage.
The origins of "underwriting" began many years ago in a coffee shop called Lloyds. When a person of wealth wished to insure the contents of a ship leaving England, that person bidding to take on the financial risk would write his name under the description of the risk. He would write under, or underwrite, the contract with his signature. Then, for an agreed price, the ship owner would have insurance that the underwriter would pay for the cargo, should the ship sink or burn.
The underwriting of a health insurance policy is the process of the health insurance company underwriter deciding whether to insure you, and at what rate based on your medical history and the activities that you may engage in such as certain sports or dangerous activities.
In general, they are trying to see if you are healthy in mind, body, and life style. In order for them to assess the risk they may take on by offering to pay your future medical expenses, they need information. The underwriters receive this information from several sources:
Each health insurance company has their own criteria that they use, but you get the point. If you apply for health insurance on an individual basis, the carrier will make an assessment of your heath and well being. Some insurance companies are less strict than others. This is the reason that many of the lower cost carriers are the toughest in their underwriting practices.