also called pre-existing conditions
A health issue you already had before buying a policy, which insurers often exclude or surcharge.
A health problem you already had before the policy started, which insurers tend to either exclude or charge extra to cover. Fail to declare one and they can refuse a claim later. A waiting period is a different catch: cover that only starts after you have held the policy for a while.
Someone with a managed thyroid condition buys a cheap policy abroad and does not mention it, assuming it is minor. When a related issue sends them to hospital, the insurer pulls their history, sees the undeclared condition, and rejects the claim.
Failing to declare one can void a claim, and finding cover for it abroad is a common nomad headache.
The difference is the whole point, so here is each one in a line.
These are the ways cover is limited by your history or the calendar.
A pre-existing condition is something you already had, which insurers often exclude or surcharge, and a policy exclusion is anything the contract simply will not pay for.
A waiting period is a stretch after the policy starts before certain cover switches on, maternity cover is usually an add-on with a long waiting period served before conception, and chronic condition cover is how a policy handles long-term illnesses it often caps or limits.
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