Health Underwriting Questionnaire (Gesundheitsprüfung)
The health underwriting questionnaire collects an applicant's health status before contract conclusion, forming the basis for the insurer's risk assessment.
Concept
The health underwriting questionnaire is the pre-contractual process in which an insurer, as part of the application for life, health, or disability income insurance, collects the applicant’s health status through targeted health questions in order to assess the individual risk and decide on acceptance, rejection, or acceptance on special terms.
Scope and Design
The health underwriting questionnaire ranges from simple, standardized questionnaires about pre-existing conditions and treatments in recent years to extensive medical examinations for high sums insured or elevated risk age; the applicant’s answers are subject to the pre-contractual disclosure duty, breach of which grants the insurer particular rights.
Risk Assessment and Contract Design
Based on the health underwriting questionnaire, the insurer decides whether to accept the application on standard terms, accept it with a risk loading or benefit exclusion for certain pre-existing conditions, or reject the application entirely; alternative contract forms without, or with simplified, health underwriting come with corresponding restrictions or premium surcharges to compensate for the anti-selection risk created by forgoing full risk assessment.