Insurance Query

Shekhar

There is only one eligibility criterion for anyone looking to port the health plan —he/she should have renewed their old policy without break. It is actually too late for you to port the policy now. The porting request has to be made to the new insurer at least 45 days prior to the expiry of the policy.

However, before you make a decision to switch insurers, what you should also note is that there is no guarantee that the new insurer will accept your proposal. Even if he accepts your proposal, you will be required to undergo medical tests and for any new health complication, you will be charged a higher premium. Since you are still young, it is suggested that you buy another policy afresh and not go through the hassle of porting. However, this is only if you have not already developed any health complication and can let go of the ‘waiting period’ spent already on the old policy. When porting from one insurer to another, you will be allowed continuity benefit of the waiting period, that is, you will be allowed to carry forward the time spent on the earlier policy. Say, your current policy has a four-year waiting period for pre-existing diseases and you have already spent two years on it; if the new policy has a two-year waiting period, your pre-existing diseases will be covered from day 1 in the new policy.

There are many comprehensive health plans in the market today. For a young family, some good options are aApollo Munich’s Optima Restore, Religare Health’s Care, Cigna TTK’s Pro Health Plus, Max Bupa’s Health Companion and Royal Sundaram’s Lifeline Supreme. These are policies with no sub-limits, that have an attractive no-claim bonus option and also provide ‘restoration benefit’ on sum insured.

COMMENT NOW