Health Insurance Portability: Not As Simple As Mobile Number Porting

You can port your health insurance policy if you are not happy with it. However, there is a need to understand that the portability in health insurance is not unconditional, like mobile number porting, where one can easily switch from one service provider to another.

Portability Comes With Conditions, Not Guarantees

“In health insurance, porting is subject to conditions. The new insurer will do fresh underwriting and decide whether to accept the policy or not. Other than getting continuity of benefits from the previous policy, it is no different than taking a fresh policy. Hence, the proposals get rejected for no other reason than a normal fresh proposal would be rejected,” says Hari Radhakrishnan, expert, Insurance Brokers Association of India (IBAI).

Insurers, particularly private insurers, are quite selective when it comes to accepting porting requests. “If the proposer already has a medical history of multiple past or present illnesses or conditions, the chances of porting requests getting accepted are quite slim,” says Radhakrishnan.

Start Early, Stay Covered: Avoid Gaps At All Costs

The process may take some time and might require the customer to take follow-ups. Also, the different insurers might have varied underwriting norms or conditions that might further be stressful. There could be chances that the waiting period may not always transfer easily if the documentation is not clear.

“Especially senior citizens or anyone dealing with health concerns might find it difficult to sail through the process if proper guidance is not offered,” says Sarita Joshi, head of health and life insurance, Probus.

Some of the most common reasons for health insurance portability requests rejection include delay in submitting the requests, incomplete paperwork, discrepancies in previous policy information, gaps in premium payment, or continuous coverage.

“It is highly advisable to start the process at least 45 days prior to ensure all the paperwork is complete and updated and discloses all details with complete transparency,” says Joshi.

Porting should not be done in the absence of any compelling reasons to shift insurers, such as bad service or coverage insufficiency. One should not port for the sake of porting.

“The porting process should be done well in advance of existing policy renewal so that, in case the request is denied, one can continue with the existing insurer. Under no circumstances should one discontinue existing policy under the assumption that porting requests would go through,” says Radhakrishnan.