Port Your Health Insurance Cover Without Losing Benefits

 

Today, everybody knows the importance of health insurance. Medical inflation is on the rise, and the cost of a simple procedure could set you back significantly. But, you must not stick with an insurer who does not offer you all the benefits you deserve for the premium you pay. In today’s competitive market, you might get better coverage or lower premiums for another insurer. If this is the case, you can port your health insurance cover while retaining your existing benefits!

What’s the Difference Between Porting and Purchasing?

Various insurance providers offer different health insurance plans. Each policy comes with a range of benefits and disadvantages. After a few years with one provider and policy, you may decide that a new insurance policy by a competitor is better. It offers you enhanced coverage, so you’d like to opt for that plan. If you purchase the policy as a new customer, you will have to worry about waiting periods on your new policy. You could also lose your No Claim Bonus (NCB) from your existing plan. Instead of purchasing a new health policy, you can ask to port it instead. When you approach the new insurance provider, you have to provide details of your existing health insurance plan. Based on your medical history, they could agree to provide you with the health insurance cover you want. Since they have all your old documents, they will treat your new policy as a renewal of your old one. So, you will not have to go through the waiting periods again, and you can enjoy your NCB.

Do All the Benefits Continue?

When you opt to port your policy, you do not lose out on any benefits. Currently, you can opt to port an individual indemnity health plan. Portability options are available for both individual and family floater policies. You can continue to enjoy your waiting period and NCB benefits without any breaks in cover. The continuity benefits extend to other time-bound claims as well, but they may only be up to the sum insured of your previous health policy for a short while.

What Benefits Can I Enjoy if I Choose to Port My Health Insurance Cover?

Porting your health plan has multiple benefits, including:

• A New Sum Insured

  When you decide to port your policy, your old sum insured amount gets added to the accrued bonus. The total becomes your new sum insured. But, that’s not all! The existing no claim bonus also gets added to the revised sum insured amount.

• Continued Benefits

  All the benefits you enjoyed under your old health plan get carried over to your new policy.

• Better Premiums

  Today’s health insurance market is quite competitive. When you opt to port your health insurance cover, you could end up getting a higher sum insured amount for the same premium. Alternatively, you might enjoy all the same benefits for a discounted price. Over time, this could lead to significant savings.

• Complete Transparency

  People switch insurance providers for multiple reasons. Some may opt to port their health insurance coverage because they want more transparency from their insurer. You have the freedom to look up information about each insurance provider before you decide to port your cover. Make sure you find a company that offers complete transparency. When it comes to health insurance, you should not have to worry about hidden costs and charges.

• Customised Policies

  Every policyholder can modify their existing plan with add-ons. By doing this, you can create a completely customised plan based on your personal needs and requirements.

• High Claim Settlements

  Whenever you purchase an insurance policy, you must check the provider’s claim settlement ratio. The percentage tells you how many claims they have settled of all the claim requests received. The higher the number, the better your chances of claims getting settled. When you port your policy, you could opt to go with an insurance provider that offers a better claim settlement ratio than your current one.

Will the Premium Change?

Your premium may or may not change. In certain situations, you might enjoy the same benefits and coverage for a lower premium. At other times, depending on your policy inclusions and the total health insurance cover you choose, your premium might increase. The amount depends on each provider’s underwriting policy.

Frequently Asked Questions  About Porting Health Insurance Plans

• Q: Is portability available for all health insurance products?

  A: Yes, all health policies provide options for portability. But, you can only port your policy to another provider who offers a similar plan. For example, let’s say you have a basic hospitalisation policy. You can port it to another provider who offers hospitalisation-only policies.

• Q: What continuity benefits can I enjoy after porting my health insurance cover?

  A: If your portability application gets accepted, you can enjoy continuity for all waiting periods and time-bound exclusions. Assume your policy excludes treatments like joint replacement surgeries for four years. You have been with your health provider for three years already and now port to a new insurance company. You do not have to wait another four years. After one year, you can file a claim for joint replacement surgery.

• Q: Will I have to redo my medicals before porting my policy?

  A: The process might differ depending on your insurance provider and their underwriting policy. You should check with your new insurance provider about the medical requirements.

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• Difference between Health Insurance and Mediclaim
• Important Things to Keep In Mind While Buying a Family Floater Plan

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