#FinancialBytes: How to port your health insurance
What's the story
Are you unhappy with your health insurer? Well, then you do have an option to port your health insurance to another insurer, which can offer you better facilities.
But how does health insurance portability work? When can you do it and what all documents do you need to get it done?
Find answers to all these questions here.
Information
What is Health Insurance Portability?
Health Insurance Portability is a mechanism devised by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) of India which allows policyholders to transfer their existing health insurance policies from their current insurance provider to another provider, without losing the accumulated benefits.
Details
What can you port from old to the new insurer?
When you port your health policy, your new insurer is required to insure you at least up to the sum you were insured under your old insurer.
Your new insurer also has to give you the credit that you have gained under your old insurer related to the initial waiting period, waiting period for pre-existing ailments and waiting period for certain specified ailments.
Rules
Rules governing portability of health insurance in India: Part 1
You can port your health policy from one insurer to another, only if both are indemnity plans which cover hospitalization.
You can only port similar health policies. However, both individual or family health policies qualify for portability.
You can port your policy from any general/specialized insurance company to any specialized/general insurance company.
Portability is allowed only during the renewal stage of a policy.
Rules
Rules governing portability of health insurance in India: Part 2
For portability, you need to inform your current insurer at least 45 days before the policy is due for renewal, in writing.
Further, your current insurer must acknowledge such portability application within three days.
Health insurance portability does not involve porting charges.
Process
Procedure for porting your health policy: Part 1
The health insurance portability procedure begins with your portability application to your current insurer, which needs to be done at least 45 days before the policy is due for renewal.
Then you need to fill up a portability form and upon acceptance of such request, the new insurer provides you with a proposal and a portability form, detailing its various available products.
Process
Procedure for porting your health policy: Part 2
After that, you select a product, fill up and submit the proposal and the portability form to the new insurer.
The new insurer then approaches the old insurer or log on to the IRDA website for details regarding your medical records, claim record etc.
The new insurer is then bound to accept or reject your portability request within 15 days, otherwise it stands accepted.
Paperwork
Finally, the documents you need for the portability process
You need the following documents for porting your policy from one insurer to another:
Previous years' policy certificates from your previous insurer
Latest renewal notice of the health policy
A self-declaration of the portability in case of a no-claim case
In cases of claims made, you also need to have documents related to the made claim like the discharge summary, etc.