5 Advantages of Availing Health Insurance Portability in 2024

The pandemic has brought a sea change in how people prioritize their health and well-being. Having borne the brunt of unbearable medical bills, more people are now porting to health insurers offering higher sum insured options with enhanced coverage. Another emerging reason for porting health insurance is to avail of the easy EMI facility for premium payouts. While people can have different needs behind portability, the bunch of advantages attached to health insurance portability remain common for all.

Let’s learn about the top 5 benefits you can avail of by porting your health policy this renewal season. 

5 Advantages You Can Avail by Porting Health Insurance

As a policyholder, you can avail of the portability facility at the time of renewal, by intimating the current insurer and the new one at least 45 days prior to renewal. That’s how you can receive the following advantages of insurance portability-

1) Portability of Time-bound Exclusions

As a policyholder, you generally continue with a health policy for a year before switching to another health insurer. By this time, you would have partially completed important time-bound exclusions, including-

i) The initial 30-day waiting period for all standard ailments,

ii) Half of the 2-year waiting period for named diseases, and

iii) The first year of the 4-year waiting period for pre-existing diseases.

Thanks to IRDAI, it is mandatory for the new insurer to consider and recredit the waiting period already served. This means if you have spent 1 year with the current insurer, your new insurance policy will reduce the new waiting period by 1 year automatically. Check out the table below to understand the continuation of the waiting period-

Porting your health policy helps you access health insurance services within a standard waiting period without unnecessary delays. Know more about how to port health insurance policy online.

2) Ability to Port from an Individual Plan to Family Floater

“Can I port my health insurance policy to a family floater policy?”—is one of the most common questions around portability. Yes, you can easily port your individual health cover to a family floater policy while retaining the waiting period gained with the current insurer. Under the new family cover, all the additional insured members will start serving the waiting period afresh.

Suppose your current insurer does not offer provisions to add your family members or limit their coverage. In that case, you can port to a comprehensive family health policy as offered by Care Health Insurance. With coverage for COVID-19 and AYUSH treatment, the family health cover by Care Health Insurance secures the health and finances of the entire family with a budget-friendly premium. 

3) Minimum Coverage up to the Previous Sum Insured

You might choose to port your health insurance after gaining an additional sum insured through the no-claim bonus benefit. Worry not; you will not lose the extra sum insured coverage while porting your health policy. IRDAI says– it is applicable for the new health insurer to provide sum insured coverage up to the extent of the previous sum insured and any cumulative bonus.

For instance, your previous policy had an original sum insured of INR 5 lakhs, and you gained a 50% no-claim bonus before porting the policy. Thereby, you would have accumulated a total coverage of INR 7.5 lakhs. According to IRDAI, the new health policy should provide you with a minimum coverage of INR 7.5 lakhs. 

4) An Easy and Quick Portability Process

Most people continue to compromise with limited health insurance coverage due to a lack of understanding of the portability process. It is easier to port health insurance than you think. In its portability guidelines, IRDAI rules out that your existing insurer must acknowledge the portability request within 3 days of receiving it. On the other hand, the new insurer is obliged to accept or reject your portability request within 15 days of receiving the complete application. 

5) Customization of Policy Benefits

Your existing health plan might not offer a higher sum insured, coverage for alternate treatment, or EMI opeion for premium payment. The best part of porting your health insurance is that you can browse and select a new health plan that most suitably meets your healthcare needs. 

What’s more, with Care Health Insurance, you can customize your health policy according to your family's medical needs and health status. For instance, you can choose the sum insured starting from 3 lakhs to 6 crores to secure the entire family, or you can add optional maternity coverage if planning for family expansion. Also, you can have separate health covers for your aging parents given their pre-existing diseases. 

>> Also Read Benefits of Having a Health Insurance Plan for Family

In Closing

It is time to port health insurance when you are not satisfied with the services and coverage of your current insurer. Yet, many people settle down with limited benefits behind the misconception of a lengthy and ineffective portability process. So, it’s time to reconsider your policy’s scope and benefits while comparing them with other health plans to make the right portability move.

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Disclaimer: Portability of health insurance products is subject to the underwriter’s discretion. Please follow the policy documents and terms and conditions carefully for more details. 

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