How To Port Your Health Insurance Policy ?

Unhappy and unsatisfied with your current health insurance policy and company?

This is what you can do - Port your health insurance policy!

Wondering what it means and how does health policy portability work? Just read below and you will get all the answers.

What is health insurance portability?

IRDAI allowed health insurance portability in 2011. Portability here means that you can switch your current health policy from your existing insurance provider to a better or more suitable policy with any other insurance provider without losing any benefits.

What benefits am I talking about?

The waiting period and other time bound exclusions that have been credited along with benefits like free check ups and no claim bonus are all continued with the new policy. 

For your claim with the new policy, you won’t have to wait for another waiting period cycle!

Relieved to know, right? 

For better clarity, let me take you through an example -

Anand has asthma which comes under pre existing disease with a waiting period of 3 years under his health policy that he purchased two years ago. Now when he ports his policy with a new insurer, he will have to wait for another 1 year to get asthma covered and not 3 full years. This is because benefits from the previous policy are accrued to the new policy. 

But there’s something to remember - portability can be done only at the time of renewability. 

This is what you do to port your policy

• File a portability request with the new insurer atleast 45 days before the renewal date of the existing policy.
• You will be provided with proposal and portability forms by the new insurer along with alternate health policy plans that you can opt for.
• Select a suitable health plan and submit the filled proposal and portability forms.
• To know about your claim history, the new insurer may either approach your previous insurer or check through IRDAI’s common portal.
• The new insurer has to decide within 15 days of receiving all forms and information, whether to accept or reject your portability request. However, acknowledgement must be sent within 3 days.

Documents required for health insurance portability

• Portability form
• Proposal form
• Policy certificate from previous years
• Self declaration in case of no claim
• Documents related to medical history and previous claims
• Identity and address proof

Health Insurance Portability Rules as per IRDAI

• The type of plan or policy: You can only port to a similar type of health plan or policy. You can’t completely change the coverage. For example, a top up plan can be ported only to a top up plan.
  
  
• The insurance company: You can only port from a general/specialized insurance company to another general/specialized insurance company. Meaning, you can port to a similar type of company only.
  
  
• The right time to port: Portability can’t be done in the middle of the policy period. It has to be done at the time of policy renewal.
  
  
• Policy continuity: You won’t be able to port your policy if there was any gap or break in policy continuity. Always renew your policy on time so it doesn’t get lapsed.
  
  
• Informing your insurance company: Portability request must be filed atleast 45 days before the renewal of your current policy.
  Also, it’s important to say bye to your current insurer. Tell them in writing regarding your policy portability along with the name of the new insurance company.
  
  
• Acknowledgement by insurance company: Once you have filed a portability request, health insurance companies have to acknowledge the application within 3 days.
  
  
• Portability fees: Both the current or new insurer cannot charge any kind of fees from the policyholder for portability.
  
  
• Waiting period: When you port your policy, the waiting period benefit is carried to your next policy for the same diseases. But if coverage is changed, waiting period applicability might also change.
  For example, if maternity cover wasn’t in your previous policy but is included in the new policy, then you will have to wait for the entire waiting cycle.
  
  
• Premiums: Premium is charged by insurers based on their own set of services and benefits. When you port the policy, your premium may vary even for similar coverage.

So if you think that your current policy is unsatisfactory or the services of the insurer are inefficient - you can port your policy instead of going for a renewal!