Health visitor using digital talking and talking to a senior woman during home visit and explaining the treatment to his patient.

It often happens that when you are continuing with your health insurance policy for a while, you may miss out on newer features, or benefits that are added to the newer policies. You may also find other insurance policies with the same or different health insurance provider which meets your insurance needs in a better way. You may also feel dissatisfied with the service response from your current insurance provider. Whatever is the reason, if you wish to simply move your policy to the same or different provider, the health insurance portabilitycan come as a boon.

What is health insurance portability?

The health insurance portability, as the name suggests, can help you move your policy to a different one. It has been introduced in 2011 by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India better known as IRDAI. The benefit of porting the health insurance policy can be gained in terms of the benefits that you have accumulated to be carried over to the new health insurance plan.

Why should you port to a different provider?

Here are some of the biggest reasons why the policyholders may port to a new provider:

  • Lacking service: If your current insurance provider is not as responsive as you expect them to be or does not maintain the quality of service as promised by them, you have no reason to continue with the same provider.
  • Insufficient cover: The health insurance policy must provide sufficient coverage according to your health insurance needs. If the policy misses out on covering some of the important health issues then moving to a different provider might be the best way forward.
  • Hidden charges or clauses: If youdiscover that your insurance provider has not been completely transparent with you and your policy has some hidden clauses that hinder your usage of the policy, it is definitely a strong reason to shift.
  • Attractive offers: Ifyou can evaluate the offerings of other insurance providers with your current policy, and discover some attractive offers, you can benefit from moving over to a new insurance provider.
  • Slow claim settlements or low settlement ratio: If you are worried that your current health insurance provider has a lower settlement ratio or if you are facing some challenges with their slow settlement process, you can easily move your policy to a different insurer.

How does the porting of health insurance policies work?

The health insurance policy can be ported to a different insurance provider by following the guidelines specified by the IRDAI. Here are some of the factors that you need to keep in mind when porting your policy to a different insurance company.

  • Type of policy: Thereare various types of health insurance policies such as a top-up plan or basic reimbursement plan. When you are migrating to a different policy it needs to be of a similar kind as your old policy.
  • Before renewal: The only time that you can port your policy to a new one is at the time of the renewal of your old policy. At no other time during the policy are you allowed to move your policy to a different provider?
  • Notice: Youmust give written notice, 45 days prior to the policy expiry date to your current insurance provider. The notice must clearly indicate your wish to move to a different insurance provider as well as the name of the provider that you wish to move to. The acknowledgment will be provided within 3 days from the insurer.
  • Company type: If your policy is with a general insurance policy provider it can only be moved to another general insurance provider. The same is true for a specialized insurance provider.
  • Grace period: In case the porting is taking time, the current policy can be extended for a grace period of 30 days. The premium for the 30 days has to be paid to the insurer on a pro-rata basis.

Following the above points can help you port your policy without any issues. You can go to the IIFL website to compare your current policy and evaluate the alternatives from competitors before making a decision.