Portability of Health Insurance

You can port a health policy to a new insurer only at renewal, with no break in coverage, by submitting a portability request at least 45 days before your current policy's renewal date. The new insurer must credit you for waiting periods already served (up to your old policy's sum insured - any increase in sum insured with the new policy attracts a fresh waiting period on the additional amount), and your no-claim bonus and pre-existing disease cover status also carry over. This matters because it removes a major reason people feel stuck with an insurer they're unhappy with - dissatisfaction no longer means starting over from zero.

(Portability rules and the 45-day timeline checked as of September 2026, per current IRDAI guidelines.)