Picture a scene that plays out in thousands of Indian households every renewal season. A 62-year-old retired teacher, tired of chasing her insurer over a delayed claim and stung by another premium hike, decides she has had enough. A friend tells her about porting – carrying the policy and waiting periods to a better insurer. She fills the forms, digs out all her policy papers and sits through a medical test. Six weeks later, a politely worded letter arrives: application declined. She renews with the old insurer, because at her age, what choice does she have?
A right with an asterisk
Health insurance portability was introduced in 2011 with a simple promise: you should not have to stay married to an insurer that treats you badly. Switch at renewal, and the waiting periods already served for pre-existing illnesses travel with you. Your no-claim bonus comes along too. On paper, it is among the most consumer-friendly reforms by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai), but in practice, it comes with serious limitations.
Porting is a mere application, not a guaranteed transfer. The new insurer reviews your age, medical history, and claims record and may decline it. It may say “yes” but with conditions: a higher premium, a co-payment clause, or exclusion of the illness you hoped would get covered.
Young and healthy? You will likely sail through. Over sixty, diabetic, or carrying recent claims? The door narrows sharply. Insurers hesitate with senior citizens, and applicants above 70 are rarely entertained. The people with the strongest reasons to escape a bad insurer are those the market is least eager to welcome.
The clock, and the fine print
Then comes the narrow window to the port. You can port only at renewal and should apply about 45 days before expiry. Miss the window, and you wait a year. Let the policy lapse, and you may lose the right, along with continuity benefits built over the years.
Waiting-period credit applies only up to the old sum insured. Port a ₹5 lakh cover and upgrade to ₹10 lakh, and the additional ₹5 lakh starts its waiting period from zero. Riders may not move, and the new plan brings different room-rent limits, co-pays and network hospitals. A lower premium can hide thinner cover.
Porting also means a fresh proposal form and full medical disclosure. Forget an old consultation, and it can surface later as grounds to contest a claim. These hurdles matter most for older policyholders, who increasingly want to switch but have the most to lose if the process goes wrong. Industry data showed senior citizens driving a roughly 61 per cent jump in porting activity, with children paying the premium in about three out of four cases.
Slowly, the tide is turning
To be fair, the rules have improved. A sweeping Irdai master circular in May 2024 consolidated 55 circulars, required insurers to exchange an applicant’s records within 72 hours, and gave the new insurer five days to decide. Waiting periods for pre-existing diseases have been reduced, and after five years of continuous cover an insurer can no longer contest claims over disclosure lapses, except for fraud. And demand is surging among policyholders, but for the insurer the welcome mat is selective.
The market wants you—if you are the right customer.
Insurers now court switchers through online forms, tele-medicals and comparison portals, often bundling the move with an upgrade. But it’s not for everyone. The brightest smiles are reserved for the young and fit; a 60-plus applicant is more likely to face a co-payment, loaded premium and longer medical form. The market has learned to love switchers—just not all of them.
Thinking of switching?
Start 45 to 60 days before renewal, and never let the old policy lapse while a decision is pending. Disclose everything. Compare plans feature by feature, not premium by premium. Ask in writing which continuity benefits will be honoured and how your bonus will be treated. Remember that an increase in cover restarts the clock on the increased portion. If a ported benefit is denied, escalate to the insurer’s grievance cell, then to the insurance ombudsman.
Portability was meant to keep insurers honest by keeping the exit door open. The door exists— but for the old, the ill, and the recently hospitalised, someone is still standing in the way. Worse, despite rules prohibiting commissions on ported policies, the rules are being flouted openly.
Until saying “yes” becomes as easy as applying, portability will remain, for too many Indians, just a word in the brochure and a closed door in real life.
The author is former executive director, Irdai. Views are personal.