Here’s How to Port Your Health Insurance for Better Benefits

Health Insurance is a type of insurance that provides coverage against any medical emergencies arising out of an accident, injury, or illness. It extends its coverage to medical expenses, such as hospital bills, medicines, consultation fees, etc.

A Health Insurance Policy can be bought for a specific period by paying a monthly or yearly premium. The three major deciding factors of Health Insurance premium are - the policyholder's age, sum insured, and health habits.

Health Insurance had always been a neglected topic in India but the Covid-19 pandemic has been an eye-opener for many people and they now realise the importance of having the right Health Insurance Policy. But what if you are not satisfied with the current policy or the current insurer? Can you change your insurer while not losing on any of the credits or benefits you earned with the existing insurer over the years? The answer is - Yes, and it is called porting your Health Insurance.

What is Porting a Health Insurance Policy?

As per IRDAI, the portability in Health Insurance means the right accorded to individual Health Insurance policyholders (including all the members in a Family Floater Health Insurance Policies) to shift their policy to another insurer company along with transfer of credits gained for pre-existing conditions and time bound exclusions.

The portability feature allows you, the policyholder, to transfer your existing Health Insurance Policy to the new insurer, without compromising on the discounts or bonuses provided by the existing policy.

The portability is applicable for all the indemnity-based Individual Health Insurance Policies, Family Floater Health Insurance Policies, and Group Health Insurance Schemes offered to the account holders of a bank. The IRDAI or insurers do not charge any fee for providing the portability facility in Health Insurance.

Porting of Health Insurance is nothing but porting of;

• Current sum insured

• Current insured members

• Accumulated No Claim Bonus

• Covered pre-existing diseases waiting periods

• Covered specific diseases waiting periods

• Maternity benefit waiting period

Why and when should you port your Health Insurance Policy?

Many policyholders get befuddled when it comes to deciding whether or not to port Health Insurance. Here are some basic points about why and when you should port your Health Insurance Policy:

1. Poor Service:

It is quite common that the agents or company representatives to make false promises when buying the policy but after buying the policy the expected quality service is not provided. In such a case you might want to shift your Health Insurance to some other company that provides excellent service and great customer experience right from buying the policy to claim settlement.

2. Hidden Terms and Conditions:

Sometimes in order to make a sale, the agents and representatives intentionally hide certain policy clauses that could be a deal breaker to you. However, it can also happen unintentionally too. If these hidden terms and conditions negatively impact your Health Insurance cover or do not make you feel comfortable, it is better to change the insurer.

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3. Poor Claim Settlement:

When buying a Health Insurance Policy many individuals make hasty decisions and do not pay attention to the claim settlement ratio. If your insurer has a slow claim settlement process and/or low claim settlement ratio, it makes sense to port the Health Insurance to the insurer with a good claim settlement ratio and faster claim settlement process.

4. High Premium:

With increased competition in the insurance industry, health insurance companies offer competitive premiums. It could be possible that the competitor offers you the same benefits for a lower premium than what you are currently paying.

5. Additional Cover:

If your existing health insurer does not provide a specific cover that you need, there is no point in continuing with the same insurer if the cover is offered by a competitor for the same premium or a reasonable increase in the premium.

6. Better Value:

If a new insurance policy has better value for the overall policy offerings, it could be a wise decision to shift the insurer after doing thorough research and comparison.

What are the limitations of porting a Health Insurance Policy?

While Health Insurance porting is beneficial in many ways, it has some limitations:

1. You can port the Health Insurance Policy only at the time of policy renewal. You cannot port it any other time.

2. portability might not offer significant benefits as porting is allowed only across similar types of policies.

3. Added coverage or added benefits mean a higher premium.

4. You may lose certain benefits when you port for lower premium Health Insurance.

What are the guidelines for Health Insurance portability?

The IRDAI has laid down certain guidelines and rules that have to be followed by the insurers and policyholders.

1. Same Type of Policy:

Portability is allowed only across the same type of policies. This means you cannot completely change the plan, coverage, and type of the policy. For example, you can port from one Basic Health Insurance Plan to another Basic Health Insurance Plan or one Top-up Health Insurance Plan to another Top-up Plan.

2. Same Type of Company:

The company you are migrating should be the same type. For example, from general insurance company to general insurance company or specialised health insurance company to specialised health insurance company.

3. At the Time of Renewal:

The portability is allowed only at the time of policy renewal and not at any other time.

4. Informing the Insurer:

If you wish to port your Health Insurance, you need to inform the current insurer in writing at least 45 days in advance. You should also mention the name of the insurer you wish to switch to.

5. Response from the Current Insurer:

A new insurer needs to acknowledge your portability request within 3 working days of receiving the request and make a decision on it within 15 days of receiving all the required documents. In case of any delay, the new insurer must request the current insurer to provide you with a short-term insurance cover. This cover is provided for up to 30 days and the premium is calculated on a pro-rata basis.

6. Free of Cost Service:

The Health Insurance portability is offered free of cost and insurers cannot charge any fee for providing this facility.

7. Change in the Premium:

The new insurer may offer a higher or lower premium than the current insurer depending upon the pre-existing diseases and whether the policy is claim-free.

8. Grace Period:

You get an additional grace period while our Health Insurance is still under process. The premium will be charged basis the number of days your old policy was active.

9. Sum Insured and Coverage:

When porting the policy you can increase your sum insured and extend the policy coverage, provided the new insurer approves it.

10. Waiting Period:

You do not have to go through the writing period clause once again if you have already covered it in the old Health Insurance Policy. The survived waiting period will be deducted from the waiting period of your new policy. However, in case the new insurer provides an additional cover for which the waiting period is mandatory, the insurer must inform about it before issuing the Health Insurance Policy.

11. No Claim Bonus:

Your new insurer will provide you with a discount on the premium based on the accumulated No Claim Bonus (NCB) with your old policy. This is a major benefit of porting that you do not lose out on the NCB.

12. Other Benefits:

Apart from the NCB, any other credits and benefits will be transferred to your new Health Insurance Policy even after switching the insurer.

How to port your Health Insurance Policy?

Follow these steps to port your Health Insurance:

1. First of all, you need to choose the Health Insurance Policy that matches your requirements the best. Once you have finalised the insurer, you have to visit the new insurer's website and place a porting request. You can also make the porting request offline i.e. by visiting the nearest branch of the insurer or you may call the helpline number of the insurer.

2. After the insurer receives your request, the insurance company representative will call you to confirm the request and guide you through the porting process.

3. The insurer will send you the IRDAI portability form and proposal form, which need to be carefully filled out and sent back to the insurer along with the required documents.

4. Upon receiving the documents, the insurer will contact your current insurer to obtain your medical history and policy details.

5. The insurers are liable to share this information for such requests through IRDAI.

6. Once the new insurer receives all the required details, they will start with the underwriting process. This is when the new insurer analyses your profile through an underwriter and decides whether or not to approve your insurance proposal.

7. The underwriting process must be completed within 15 days of receiving the details from your current insurer. Failing to do so or any delay in the process is considered as you are covered under the new Health Insurance Policy.

Here's a general list of documents you need to submit while porting your Health Insurance Policy:

• The IRDAI portability form

• Proposal form

• Identity proof

• Address proof

• Existing insurance policy (could be obtained from your current insurer)

• Documents related to medical history (could be obtained from your current insurer)

• Claim history (could be obtained from your current insurer)

• Declaration of no-claim, if applicable (could be obtained from your current insurer)

To conclude...

A medical emergency is financially and emotionally challenging for the patient and his/her friends and family. The absence of sufficient health insurance can deplete years of savings or even create a huge debt. Therefore, buying a Health Insurance Policy should be done carefully, after analysing your lifestyle, family needs, medical history, and many more factors. While porting your Health Insurance consider all the points discussed above and do not forget to check the limits, sub-limits, coverage, clauses, inclusions, exclusions, premium, and exemptions to avoid disappointments in the future. Buying or porting health insurance online will make it easier for you to compare different policies and may offer some discount on the premium. If you are still unsure, click here to read the comprehensive guide to buying Health Insurance in India.

Warm Regards,
Ketki Jadhav
Content Writer