How to port your health insurance to another insurer
Short answer
Portability lets you move your health policy to another insurer at renewal without starting your waiting periods from zero. The new insurer credits the time you have already served, but it decides on your application and sets its own premium and terms. Apply before your policy ends, and keep it running until the new one starts.
What is health insurance portability?
Under IRDAI's rules you have the right to buy a health policy from another insurer, and to carry over the time you have already served on your current policy. That time counts towards the waiting periods for pre-existing diseases and for other time-bound exclusions in the new policy. You do not start from zero, provided your previous policy ran without a break.
What carries over, and what does not?
- Carries over: the credit for waiting time you have already served. For example, if a condition was excluded for a set period under your old policy, the new insurer allows credit for what you have served, and only the remainder can apply.
- Does not carry over: everything else. The premium and all other terms of the new policy are the new insurer's to decide, and it can accept or decline your application after looking at your details.
So portability protects your waiting-period history. It does not guarantee acceptance, a particular premium or identical benefits.
When should I apply?
Portability happens at renewal, and you apply to the new insurer before your current policy ends. IRDAI's rules set how early, so check the current rule on IRDAI's policyholder site or ask us. The new insurer asks your existing insurer for your records, and the existing insurer must supply them, but this takes time, which is why an early start matters.
What are the steps?
- Compare plans. Look at the new plan's waiting periods, room rent limits, co-payment, sub-limits and network hospitals, not just the premium. Our health insurance page lists what to read.
- Apply to the new insurer with a portability request and a proposal form, before your current policy ends.
- Declare everything. List every existing condition and regular medication, even minor ones. Not disclosing something is a common reason claims run into trouble later.
- Wait for the new insurer's decision. It may accept, ask for more information, or decline.
- Keep your old policy running until the new one is issued. A break can cost you the credit.
What mistakes should I avoid?
- Letting the old policy lapse before the new one starts.
- Leaving the application until the last days before renewal.
- Assuming the premium and benefits will match the old plan.
- Leaving out an existing condition on the proposal form.
Questions about health insurance portability
Can I port my policy in the middle of the year?
Portability is done at renewal. If you want to move, plan it for your renewal date and start early.
Will the new insurer definitely accept me?
No. The new insurer assesses your application and can decline it or set its own terms. That is why you should keep your current policy running until the new one is issued.
Will my premium stay the same when I port?
Not necessarily. Apart from the waiting-period credit, the premium and other terms are the new insurer's decision.
Can Radiant Group help me port?
Yes. We compare plans across the insurers we work with, help you fill in the forms correctly and follow the application up. The decision is the new insurer's.
Sources
- Portability of health insurance, IRDAI policyholder pages
Portability rules, including timings, are set by IRDAI and can change. Policy terms are as per each insurer's wording. This guide is general information.
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