Planning to port your health insurance plan? Here are some challenges on which you should be aware of – financial period

When the father of the Pune-based Diwan Verma had to be taken to the hospital twice quickly, the insured was first admitted to the hospital and rejected the second claim, he was a previous existential illness. After raising the issue to the Insurance Ombudsman in 2, Verma was given the claim, while he was so frustrated to decide to go to another health insurance.

Disappointment with your existing health insurance company’s long claim settlement delay or poor service may not want you to choose your health plans by putting your health plan. You can be trapped with a strategy purchased 10 years ago in which room rentals have empimity, co-payment and very low cover size, or maybe you will have a plan that offers renovation, OPDs and day-care benefits.

“The insurer has introduced many new plans that are not more affordable, but also filled with innovative features in the development of customer needs. About 64% of the customers who have the option of their health insurance policy porting are pursuing their primary reasons, especially in health insurance, especially in India.

Going to a different plan for enhanced benefits is a good idea, but the transition cannot always be the quick-fix solution you expected. Here are some things to remember before deciding to find a new health product and insured.

Should you port or migrate your plan?

The first step is to know the difference between going to a new product (migrating) with the same insured and going to a separate plan with a new insured. “Depending on the migration and portding decisions depend on the satisfaction with your current needs, health needs, and your current insurer,” says Pankaj Shahne, the head of the grandmother’s insurance.

“Porting can be a good alternative when the current insurer’s rights, network hospitals, policy features or prices are dissatisfied,” said Bhaskar Nerurkar, head of the health administration team. One wants features such as velnes benefits, outpatient care and access to new or modern medical treatment.

Should you port or migrate?
Know the difference between the two to be able to make the right decision.

“On the other hand, migration is a convenient way to go to another plan, especially when customers are satisfied with the current insured and want to find comprehensive coverage,” says ICICI Lombard, Health Health Products, Operations and Services, Priya Deshmukh.

This type of infection in the new plan can also be smooth compared to porting as the consistency with the same health insured. Migrating also usually occurs with the risk of denying underwriting.

Problems while porting

Porting offers many benefits, because according to IRDAI guidelines, consistency benefits such as pre-existing diseases and waiting periods for specific treatment are transferred. Any claim or cumulative bonus can also be credited to your new plan. However, you need to be aware not only to avoid rejecting your proposal, but to ensure a new insurer.

Preventive Timeline: A big limit for porting is that you can change not only in the annual renewal of your existing strategy, but not medium term. To do this, the window is at least 45 days before renewal and not 60 days ago. So if you have just renewed your strategy and have taken into account the lack of it or the bad experience of the customer service, you will have to wait another year before switching to your insurer.

Another major point is that you can’t port if your policy is wrong or if you do during the portding process. So make sure you start the process well before the expiration of your policy, because evaluation, medical examination and underwriting can take a long time as it is the same as buying a new insurance plan.

Porting seekers and barriers

Benefits

• You can get insured with good rights and customer services and hospital networks.
• You can get a range of upgraded plans with good features, low limitations and low premiums.
• You can get a plan depending on your medical status and health needs.
• The waiting period of pre-existing diseases can be extended.
• The benefits and bonuses collected can be moved to a new insured.

Deficiency

• Under -raying risk is higher and therefore also at risk of denying.
• You have to give high premiums for good features.
• You may not be able to get more coverage, especially if you have a history of claim.
• You can only go to a new insured at the time of renewal.
• Loyalty discounts and rewards cannot be given to the new insured.

Undarrating: The biggest obstacle when porting is the underwriting process. “Underwriting there is usually a thorough review of customer claims and medical history, which can affect the policy of the policy. Therefore, if the applicant has a history of heart condition, then new insurers can apply the boycott or wait period for specific diseases, increase premium, or even reduce the request of the porting,” Indranal Chatteries. This is true even if the borderline is discovered during a medical examination, as it can show a potential major health problem.

“Before deciding to porty your health plan, it is important to evaluate whether the insurer’s offer aligns the needs of your current and future health care.”
Bhaskar Nerkar
Head, Health Administration Federation, Bajaj Aliazan General Insurance

High cover limit: If you have purchased a basic medical plan before Covid and have a low cover, say 3 lakh rupees, you will want to secure a big cover. Although it is possible to enhance your cover while porting, this may not always be a good idea. Although a new insurer is obliged to offer a plan of at least the same size as your existing cover, it will not be less effective for you to increase the sum of the insured. Choosing top-up or super-up-up plans can be better, which offers many high coverage at low cost.

Secondly, the benefits of the waiting period and the non-downtrmer bonus will only be taken to the limit of your existing cover. “If your old policy has a sum of Rs 5 lakh and a new plan of Rs 5 lakh is chosen, the benefits and deposits of the served weight periods and deposit non-claim bonuses may apply to only R. LKH Lakh.

Chatteries add: “No-Claim Bonus cannot always be transferred directly; some insurers can adjust it to a new amount, while some may not be. If the insured is not adjusting it, the customer must deposit it from the beginning.”

Loyalty rewards, other features: Benefits can be transferred during the waiting period of pre-existing diseases during porting, but no loyalty given by the insured or specific features with your policy will be changed. Therefore, if you are admitted to the hospital in the previous plan due to its specific medical condition, this feature will not be taken to a new plan, and the policy you choose may or may not give or offer as an inbuilt option.

Check before porting

Before switching to the insured, make sure the new plan bridges medical and address the deficiency of your existing strategy. Deshmukh says, “Evaluate the main components such as the insurer’s right settlement ratio, premium affordable ability, customer service quality and co-payment or sub-limestone clause, and excluding your current policy,” says Deshmukh.

Specific features: When focusing on affordable premiums and important features, make sure the new plan has specific features for your ongoing medical condition or future requirements, say, if you are planning to start a family, maternity benefits. “It is important to evaluate whether the new insurer’s offer is important to evaluate the needs of the current and future health services,” Nerurkar agrees.

OPD and Day-Care Benefits: If you have a family history of lifestyle or lifestyle or mental health ailments, make sure you choose the benefit of OPD because you will use it more than to admit it to the patient’s hospital. It also includes dental treatment, telecommunication, diagnosis and physical consultation. In addition, advanced technology means that many treatments are delysis, chemotherapy, eye surgery, etc. Similar day-care procedures can be taken, instead of admitting to the hospital.

“Underwriting is generally reviewed by customer claims and medical history …. and except for new insured, can increase premium or refuse a porting request.”
Indrailen Chatterjee
Co-founder and COO, Rynubey

Restore benefits: This is another feature that works well due to increasing health care and surgery costs. This allows you to recharge the sum of the insured if you end your limit in the given year.

Rights settlement ratio: Check whether the new insurer’s claim setting ratio is equal or better than your existing insurer, as it reflects reliability and efficiency in removing claims.

Portability can be rejected by the proposal…

Underwriting risk
Porting is like buying a new policy, it is subject to the latest underwriting, and if your health status, claim history, family medical history, or a high risk for a new insurer because of your age, he has the right to reject your proposal.
Non-revelation
Your proposal is likely to be rejected if you fail to accidentally or deliberately inform about a pre-existing illness or disease while filling the proposal form and appears during the medical examination of the new insurer.
The difference in policy
Portability is allowed only during the same policies. If you want to go from a compensation plan to a serious illness policy or a group plan to a personal plan, the insured may deny your request. Also, if you want a high coverage compared to your existing plan, it can be rejected as an indicator of a health problem.
Previous cancellation
If your previous policy is marked to cancel the history of or not to disclose or try to cancel it or incorrectly, a new insured may deny your portability request.
Procedural problem
You are going to send a porting request at least 45 days before the renewal. If delayed or you submit a document with an error or incorrect information, a new insured may deny your request.
Policy laps
If your policy is wrong or done during the porting process, your new insured may deny the proposal. It may also be rejected if your previous policy shows the previous renewal distance.