Once you buy a health insurance plan, the rules allow you to check the policy and its features during the 15-day free look period. In case you become unsatisfied after the expiry of this period, and are looking for a plan for the reasons that could vary as wide as price differential, better services and wider coverage then this is possible via porting of plan to another insurer.
Usually, the policyholders change their plan from one insurer to another for the following reasons:
Hidden charges: Sometimes it may happen that the charges you end up incurring in a plan surpass what you were told at the time of buying the policy. In such a case, it is feasible to explore other plans.
Slower settlement: If you personally — or someone you are acquainted with — faced an experience of slower settlement at the hands of the insurer, then it is a valid reason to find a better insurance company which has a good and impressive track record of settling claims.
Poor customer service: Another reason for intending to change the insurer is the poor customer service.
Price: If you think your current plan is expensive when compared with similar plans in the industry, then also you can think of porting your plan to another.
Wider coverage: When you want a wider coverage of policy or a critical disease to be covered under the plan which your current insurer does not offer, then you can explore the idea of porting the plan to another insurer.
And once you decide that you need to port your policy, you should make sure of the following points:
1. First and foremost, porting can happen only at the time of renewal of policy but you should apply for it at least 45 days prior to the expiry of policy.
2. The porting happens from one general/ specialist insurance company to another general/ specialist company.
3. The new insurer to which you have sent the porting request should acknowledge the request within three days and must approve within 15 days of application.
In case it takes longer than expected, then you can ask the old insurer to extend your policy by another month or so to ensure the porting takes place without break in the policy. The old insurer will charge a premium for that month on a pro-rata basis.
4. It is vital to note that the new insurer can even refuse your request for porting. There could be several reasons for the same. For instance, if there is a discontinuity in your insurance plan, your request could be turned down.
5. Another thing policyholders should be aware of is that there are no porting charges.
6. And in case the reason to port the plan from one insurer to another is that you want minor tweaks in the policy which could be offered by the old insurer then one can even move from one plan to another offered by the old insurer.
“In porting a health insurance, the most important thing is to declare any pre-existing conditions that you may have developed after buying the previous insurance. This helps future claims get paid smoothly. The ported insurance should also refer to the start date of the original insurance that you have. This ensures that waiting periods are appropirately waived off," says Kapil Mehta, Co-founder of SecureNow Insurance.
For porting you would need certain documents. These include identity proof, address proof, portability form, proposal form, insurance policy, claim history, declaration of no claims and the documents related to your medical history.
