Benefits of Converting Your Employer’s Health Insurance to an Individual Health Plan In India

What is a Group Health Insurance Policy?

As discussed earlier, a group health insurance policy is the one where an employer/organization offers the health coverage to its employees. So, here the employer/company pays for the premium of your insurance plan. These plans are, of course, very significant for an employee as they allow coverage not only to the employee but his/her family members as well.

Hence, they are popular among employees while seeking job opportunities with an employer.  The perks allowed under a health plan by an employer can be a major aspect that might hold an employee from switching jobs as well. However, you must note that policy benefits available under your group health cover can be easily transferred from your corporate plan to an individual plan in case you think of changing your job? This way, you can avail the best and cheap individual health insurance from the same insurer.

As per IRDAI, an employee who has a corporate health insurance plan is allowed to transfer the benefits of the policy from the employer plan to an individual health policy. So, if the employee who is insured under an employer health plan intends to switch his/her job and take up another one, he/she can continue with the health insurance benefits offered under the group health plan by migrating to an individual coverage.

Process to Move/Switch from Group Health Insurance to Individual Insurance Plan

So, now you know that you can switch from your group health plan to buy an individual health insurance policy. But do you know the procedure to do so? Let us discuss how can you make the move from group plan to individual plan.

To migrate from group plan to individual plan, you are required to complete few formalities that the insurance company specifies for this move. However, you would be glad to know that you can avail the benefits of the waiting period that you have accrued from the employer’s health plan in your individual plan. But, it is also to be noted that whether your policy conversion would be accepted or not depends on the insurance company, who hold the complete right to accept or reject  the policy. The insurer also has the right to decide the terms of the new individual policy that you are seeking and its premium too.

Here are the steps to initiate the conversion process to cancel employer health insurance and make it an individual plan:

• The first step is that the policyholders must inform the insurance company that is offering the current group insurance plan.
• However, if the policyholder has lost his job due to any reason, he/she must reach out to the admin or HR department of the company to know the exact process of porting.
• The employee/policyholder must inform about his/her desire to port the policy from group to individual at least one month in advance of his/her last working day. Hence, the employee or the insured must inform the insurer before leaving the organization.
• Alternatively, the insured should inform the insurer at least within five days before the group policy termination date. This way, the insurer can cover up for the policy amount by issuing the new individual policy and levying full premium on the individual plan.
• Moreover, the new individual policy that is issued is done as per the insurance company’s terms and conditions.
• If required, the insured or the policyholder might be required to undergo pre-medical checkup. And once the insurer examines the report, they will issue the individual health insurance policy.

You may have a few questions in mind like, Can employer reimburse health insurance premiums? So, you must note that your employer can definitely reimburse your health insurance premiums depending on the company policies.

Employer Based Health Insurance: Pros and Cons

Here are the salient features of employer health insurance plans.

• You get health coverage for free
• You don’t have to consider the waiting period.
• You can have coverage for family members as well.
• You get covered for maternity and childbirth.
• You can avail cashless hospital facilities.
• You may also avail precautionary health check-up facilities.

It is important to note that while migrating from corporate plan to individual plan, you must consider the best health insurance companies for individuals offering individual health insurance. If you don’t want to spend a hefty amount on your individual plan, you can look for health insurance for low income individuals.

Also Read: Individual Health Insurance Plans Features and Benefits.