What is a Health insurance portability (porting)?
Portability lets you switch your health insurer or plan while carrying forward the credit you have earned for waiting periods already served. Under IRDAI rules you apply before renewal; the new insurer can accept, price, or decline based on underwriting, but cannot make you restart pre-existing-disease waits you have already completed.
How porting protects your waiting periods
The main reason to port rather than buy fresh is continuity: the time you have already served against pre-existing-disease and other waiting periods is credited by the new insurer, so you do not start the clock again.
You initiate porting ahead of your renewal date and within the window IRDAI prescribes. The new insurer underwrites the application and may accept it, offer different terms, or decline — acceptance is not automatic.
What to check before you port
Compare the new plan's sum insured, sub-limits, co-pay, room rent and network — not just the premium. Continuity credit protects waiting periods, but the rest of the terms can be very different.
Example
You have served two years of a pre-existing-disease waiting period and want a plan with better room-rent terms. You apply to port before renewal; if the new insurer accepts, your served waiting time is carried over rather than reset.
Common mistakes
- Applying too late — porting must be initiated within the pre-renewal window, not after lapse.
- Porting only for a lower premium while ignoring worse sub-limits or co-pay.
- Letting the old policy lapse before the new one is confirmed, creating a coverage gap.
Frequently asked questions
Will I have to serve waiting periods again after porting?
Waiting time you have already completed is credited by the new insurer. Any additional cover or higher sum insured you newly add can carry its own fresh waiting period.
Can the new insurer reject my porting request?
Yes. The new insurer underwrites your application and can accept, modify terms, or decline. Continuity credit applies only if they accept you.