You can happily port your health insurance policy

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Health Insurance
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You can happily port your health insurance policy
Rohit was not happy with their existing health
insurance service provider as there was a hike
in the premium for three year old policy and
decided to port it to the new insurer. However,
he was worried that the new insurer will treat
him as fresh policyholder and impose a waiting
period for the pre-existing diseases. But,
IRDAI guidelines on health insurance policies
portability terms and condition ensures that
Rohit was able to switch to the new insurance
provider without having to lose the benefits
being accumulated with the previous insurance
provider. A pre-existing condition is any disease
that the policyholder has to wait for to get
incorporated in the plan within 48 months prior
to purchase of the health insurance policies.
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Portability of health insurance policies was
introduced by IRDAI in 2011. It makes possible
for a policyholder to transfer his or her policy
from existing insurer to the new one along with
the same plans and benefits. The insured is
entitled to continue benefits like No-Claim
Bonus, free medical check-ups, etc. being
accumulated during the previous policy term.
With the new law, every policyholder has the
right of portability provided the previous policy
is maintained without any breaks. In order to
avail this facility, the policyholder has to
apply to the insurance company, where he or she
wishes to port the policy, atleast 45 years
before the renewal of the existing policy. If
they fail to do so, then it depends upon the
insurer to consider the application for
portability or not.
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• Once the insurance company receives an
  application from a policyholder about the plan
  portability, it will provide the latter with a
  proposal form, a portability form, and details of
  various products offered by it. After the
  insurance company receives the filled in forms,
  it will obtain the medical records and claim
  history from the existing insurer.
• Existing Insurer must furnish the details within
  6 to 7 working days. Once the new insurer obtains
  all the details, it will have to take a decision
  within a fortnight to port the policy or not. If
  it fails to do so, it will be bound to accept the
  application.
• Things to Consider
• The terms and condition of the policy will differ
  from insurer-to-insurer. The policyholder will
  have to weigh those factors before making the
  switch. People in the high-risk category may
  also end up paying more premium during the
  process.

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People usually purchase health insurance policies
when they are younger. Its easier and
hassle-free because even insurance companies
prefer covering the young and the healthy.
Therefore, portability will be difficult later in
life since a new insurer will not be willing to
risk covering an elderly citizen.
The Insurers Rights While the IRDA has
empowered all policyholders with the right of
portability, it has also given insurers the right
to reject any port-in requests. All requests for
portability are treated as new and are subject to
scrutiny by the underwriter. The underwriter
assesses the risk exposure in order to determine
the premium that needs to be charged. The insurer
can reject the proposal if its deemed
unfavorable. In that case, the policyholder will
have no other option but to continue with the
existing insurance provider.
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