General Insurance✓ Verified · outline & fact-checked · Sep 2026Difficulty 1/5
In health underwriting, which of the following is best classified as a physical hazard?
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why A is correct
A physical hazard is a tangible condition that increases the chance or severity of loss. A chronic back condition is a measurable, physical state that makes future medical claims more likely, so it is a physical hazard in health underwriting. Physical hazards are distinguished from moral hazards (intentional dishonesty) and morale hazards (carelessness fostered by insurance). Underwriters weigh such physical conditions when classifying the risk and setting the premium.
Why the other options are wrong
- B) Deliberately exaggerating claims is intentional dishonesty, which is a moral hazard, not a physical condition.
- C) Carelessness that develops because insurance exists is a morale hazard, a behavioral attitude rather than a physical state.
- D) The illness that produces a claim is the peril — the cause of loss — not a condition that increases the chance of loss.
Memory hook
Physical hazard = touchable condition. Chronic back pain is physical; faking a claim is moral; slacking is morale.