What Is Health Insurance Portability?

Health insurance portability, governed by IRDAI guidelines, allows you to switch from your current health insurer to another while retaining the benefit of the waiting period you have already served on your existing policy. This is a powerful consumer right that prevents you from being "locked in" to a poor-performing insurer simply because you fear losing your waiting period credits.

What Can You Port?

  • PED waiting period credits: If you have completed 2 years of a 4-year PED waiting period, the new insurer must credit you with those 2 years — you need only serve 2 more years instead of starting over.
  • Continuous coverage credit: Continuity in coverage is maintained, which matters for some policy benefits that require prior continuous insurance.

What Cannot Be Ported?

  • No-claim bonus (NCB) — you lose accumulated NCB when switching insurers
  • Specific policy features unique to the original plan (e.g., a proprietary restoration feature)
  • You cannot port a group policy to an individual policy taking waiting period credits

Eligibility for Portability

  • Your current policy must have been renewed at least once (i.e., continuous coverage for at least 1 year)
  • Only individual and family floater policies are portable — group policies are not
  • No pending claims at the time of portability request (usually)

Step-by-Step Portability Process

  1. Start 45–60 days before renewal: IRDAI mandates that you apply for portability at least 45 days before your policy renewal date. Starting earlier (60 days) gives buffer time.
  2. Choose the new insurer: Compare plans on PolicyStars — check sum insured, premium, waiting periods, features, and the new insurer's CSR.
  3. Submit portability request to the new insurer: Fill the portability proposal form with current insurer details (policy number, insurer name, coverage history, PED declarations).
  4. New insurer processes the request: They must request your claims history from the existing insurer through the IRDAI portal within 7 days.
  5. Underwriting decision: The new insurer can accept, load premiums, or reject based on your health profile and claims history. They must decide within 15 days of receiving complete information.
  6. Policy issued: If accepted, the new policy begins on the expiry date of your old policy ensuring no gap in coverage.

Important Rules and Protections

  • The new insurer cannot reject a portability request solely on the basis of the existing insurer's claims history for PED conditions that are past the waiting period
  • If the new insurer offers a lower sum insured, they must still credit waiting periods for the original sum insured
  • IRDAI mandates that insurers provide portability — they cannot refuse to accept portable applications

When Should You Port?

Consider porting if:

  • Your insurer has consistently high claim rejection rates
  • Premiums have increased sharply at renewal
  • A competing insurer offers significantly better features (higher restoration, better room rent terms)
  • Poor claim service experience
  • You have completed the PED waiting period and want a better plan now

The Right Time NOT to Port

Avoid porting if you have an upcoming planned hospitalisation — the new insurer may not cover it. Also, porting introduces new waiting periods for features unique to the new plan, even if PED credits transfer. Evaluate the full picture before switching.