Insurance portability: Points you should know

The unrelenting health crises have forced us to reconsider our existing health insurance policies. While various people are going for different options to further enhance their health care portfolio such as additional riders, an increase of sum insured, etc to effectively deal with different infections. But a majority of people are also mulling over porting their insurance plans to a new insurance service provider in order to get the extra coverage and additional benefits.

While the TV marketing gimmick may entice you or the insurance portability process sounds like a five-finger exercise but it is a significant decision to take as this decision may adversely affect your health insurance portfolio.

Insurance portability is a process when a policyholder switches its insurance policy from one service provider to another without losing out its benefits gained in the existing policy. The policyholder usually thinks about the insurance portability in case of an unsatisfactory response is experienced by the policyholder at the time of a claim which forces them to take an extreme step to change their insurance service provider.

In some scenarios, changing an insurance service provider may hold some disadvantages as well, in terms of the additional waiting period, extra premium due to increasing age or affected by new diseases, some sort of capping on different aspects of insurance and many more. In short, you might end up losing the existing benefits which you are getting or entitled to get in the near future.

Ideally, a person should plan for the portability that leads them towards profitability with some additional benefits, and needs to solve a serious problem posed with the insurance service provider.

So, here are the reasons to think about insurance portability:

Unsatisfactory services

Nobody wants to deal with poor services when they are paid and moreover has a direct correlation with health. In case the availed insurance service provider becomes slow or non-responsive after a few years of policy duration and fails to provide satisfactory services even after repeated intimations then the policyholder must scout for a new insurance service provider to ensure smooth processing of health requirements at the time of emergency.

No additional coverage

We are always familiar with health conditions that prevail in our families and we are likely to get affected by them soon or later in our life. In case the existing insurance company denies providing you a particular desired coverage then you must know that it is time to sign up with a new insurance company to get the desired additional coverage.

Insufficient sum insured

Post-pandemic, majority of people have realised that gone are the days when a sum insured of 2-5 lakh used to be sufficient to meet the medical requirements. Different companies have different slabs of the sum insured hence if your service provider is not able to increase the sum insured then you can get this advantage with a new

Lack of transparency

Sometimes, you may find some hidden clauses or unclear statements issued by the insurance company which weren’t disclosed at the time of buying the policy. These hidden clauses can draw some unfavorable situations for you at the time of settling claims. Hence to completely avoid such a situation, you must look for a reliable insurance partner and go for insurance portability.

Better options

Insurance is an evolving commodity where new innovative products are being launched at intervals. In case you find a new better deal with extra and desirable coverage and more relaxations in terms of additional consultations, room rent capping, increased network hospitals, and lesser waiting period. It is a wise decision to think about porting to a new insurance service provider.

So now you know when you have to take the important decision to port your health insurance policy so be wise and careful while porting your health insurance plan.