Health Insurance Portability in India – A Complete 2025 Guide on Things One Need to Know

Yes, you can through the feature called porting of health insurance. Do you know what portability means?

What is Health Insurance Portability?

Health insurance plans are flexible in nature. They allow you to opt for additional coverage features, the policy tenure, and also allow portability. Portability means changing your health plan with another plan from the same insurance company or from another insurance company. When you port, you get the renewal benefits of your existing health plan.

Here are some important things about health insurance portability in India which you should know:

When is Health Insurance porting allowed?

You can port your health insurance plan only at the time of renewing your health insurance policy. Only when the chosen term of the plan comes to an end is porting allowed. So, if you buy an annual plan, you can port when the plan completes one year. In case you have chosen a term of two or three years, porting is allowed only after the completion of the chosen term.

Intimation of porting

You have to make a request to your existing insurance company about your intention to port. Porting doesn’t happen automatically. This request should be made at least 45 days prior to your policy renewal date. In case the request is not submitted 45 days in advance, there might be problems with your porting request. Even the new insurer should be notified of your interest in porting your existing health insurance to their plan.

Credit of waiting period

The pre-existing waiting period which has already elapsed in your existing health insurance policy would be given credit for in the new policy. So, if the waiting period in the existing plan is 4 years and you have continued the policy for 2 years before porting, the waiting period in the new policy would be reduced by 2 years. So, if the new policy’s waiting period is 3 years, the applicable period would be 1 year only.

Credit of no claim bonus

Many health plans increase the sum insured if you don’t make a claim in a policy year. This increase is cumulative in nature and increases for every claim-free year and increases the sum insured. In case of health insurance portability, you might or might not get credit for the accumulated no claim bonus. Some companies allow you to retain your accumulated increase in sum insured while some don’t. So, check for this credit when porting.

So, keep these things in mind when you opt for health insurance portability.

How Does Health Insurance Portability Work?

Here’s how health insurance portability works in India:

1. Eligibility: To be eligible for portability, you must have had continuous coverage with your existing insurer for at least 12 months.
2. Requesting Portability: You need to inform your existing insurer about your desire to port your policy at least 45 days before the policy renewal date. This allows the insurer to process your request.
3. Selection of New Insurer: After initiating the portability request, you can choose a new insurer. The new insurer will assess your current policy and offer you a similar plan.
4. Maintaining Benefits: When you port your policy, the new insurer will carry forward the benefits, like waiting periods for pre-existing conditions and any no-claim bonuses you’ve earned.
5. Underwriting Process: The new insurer will conduct an underwriting process to evaluate your health and medical history. Based on this, they may offer you the policy with terms and conditions.
6. Portability Confirmation: The new insurer will confirm the portability process and issue the new policy. Once that happens, your old policy with the previous insurer will be canceled.