You can move a health policy to a new insurer at renewal. Portability lets you keep credit for the waiting periods you have already served. Apply at least 30 days before the renewal date. Do not apply earlier than 60 days from it. The new insurer then has 15 days to give you its decision. Miss that, and it loses the right to reject you.
That 15-day rule is the strongest thing in the regulation. Almost nobody uses it. Send the form with proof of the date, and count.
What are the portability rules, exactly?
| Rule | Figure | Applies to | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application window | At least 30 days before renewal, and not earlier than 60 days from it | The whole policy, including all family members on it | IRDAI Master Circular on Health Insurance Business, 29 May 2024 |
| Insurer’s decision | 15 days from receipt of complete information and data | Silence past 15 days means the insurer cannot reject and must accept | IRDAI Master Circular, 29 May 2024 |
| Late applications | Insurers may still consider a request made within 15 days of the renewal date | The acquiring insurer must ensure there is no break in cover | IRDAI Master Circular, 29 May 2024 |
| Decision still pending on renewal date | Existing policy extended for a short period of at least one month, on pro-rata premium | On the policyholder’s request; the existing insurer must not cancel | IRDAI Master Circular, 29 May 2024 |
| What ports | Credit for waiting periods already served | Continuous cover, moving at renewal only | IRDAI portability guidance |
Read on 6 September 2026 from IRDAI’s Master Circular on Health Insurance Business dated 29 May 2024.
What actually carries over when you port?
Time served. Say you have done three years of a four-year wait for a pre-existing illness. You carry those three years across. You do not start again. The same holds for the first-30-day wait and for named-illness waits.
The credit attaches to the cover you already held. Port at the same sum insured and the whole of it carries credit. Raise the sum insured while porting, and the extra part is usually treated as new cover. Fresh waiting periods then apply to that part. Insurers do this consistently. It is the most common surprise.
Read how pre-existing disease waiting periods work before you port. That credit is the only real asset in an old policy.
What does not carry over, and where people get hurt
Underwriting does not carry over. The new insurer may assess you afresh. It can accept you, load your premium, or say no. Portability protects your waiting-period credit. It does not force anyone to insure you.
Nor does the product carry over. The new policy has its own room rent cap. It has its own illness sub-limits, its own co-pay and its own hospital network. A lower premium with a tighter room rent cap is not a saving. It moves the cost to your claim. Check room rent limits and sub-limits line by line.
Now the honest warning. Say you have made a claim, or an illness was found since you bought the policy. Porting puts you in front of an underwriter who has not yet taken that risk. Sometimes the right answer is to stay and pay the higher renewal. A policy that has already accepted you is worth a lot.
How do you actually do it?
Start 45 to 60 days out. Ask your current insurer for the portability form. Ask for your claim history and cover history too. Send the proposal and the form to the new insurer. Keep proof of the date you sent it.
The two insurers exchange your history through a shared industry system. So you are not the only source. If a delay is blamed on missing data, ask in writing what is missing and from whom. That one question clears most stalls.
Suppose the renewal date arrives with no decision. Ask your existing insurer in writing for the short-period extension. It is at least one month, on pro-rata premium. Do not let the old policy lapse. A break in cover ends the very continuity you are protecting. If an insurer will not act, use our IRDAI rules and grievance page.
Frequently asked questions
Can I port a health insurance policy in the middle of the policy year?
No. Portability works at renewal only. That is why the window runs off the renewal date. Apply at least 30 days before it, and no earlier than 60 days from it. Mid-term, your only route is to cancel and buy fresh. That loses your waiting-period credit.
Will my premium stay the same after porting?
Not always. The new insurer prices its own product for your age, cover and health. It may add a loading. Portability protects your waiting periods, not your price. Compare the full terms, not the premium alone.
Can the new insurer reject my portability request?
Yes, on health grounds. But it must tell you within 15 days of getting complete information. Past that, it cannot reject the proposal and must accept it. Keep dated proof of what you sent and when.
Can I port from a group policy to an individual one?
Yes, that move is allowed. Credit for the time already served is meant to follow you. Get the new insurer to confirm the exact credit in writing first. Group cover records are kept less carefully than individual ones.
Does porting reset my cumulative bonus?
The bonus you have earned is part of the cover you hold. Porting is meant to carry it, not restart it. Get the sum insured and the bonus written into the new policy schedule. If it is not on the schedule, it does not exist. See how the no-claim bonus works.
Sources
- IRDAI, Master Circular on Health Insurance Business, 29 May 2024: irdai.gov.in
- IRDAI, Guidelines on Migration and Portability of health insurance policies: irdai.gov.in
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