Porting your health policy? Tips to avoid big mistakes

From bonus to waiting periods, here's what you must know to safeguard continuity benefits

- Aprajita Sharma

The renewal of your health plan is just around the corner, and you've started receiving calls to port your policy. If you are unhappy with your existing insurer or the plan, you may entertain those calls.

Kerala-based Ajit Kumar (53) did the same despite having no issues with his existing insurer. A call from the online insurance broking platform Policybazaar nudged him to port the policy.

"I had HDFC Ergo Optima Secure for the last 10-11 years, during which I never made a claim, but my premium had increased significantly. The Policybazaar customer care representative told me I can port to a newer product with better features," Kumar said.

He regretted his decision. Kumar's HDFC Ergo policy had a base sum insured of ₹10 lakh and a no-claim bonus of another ₹10 lakh. The Policybazaar customer care told him that his no-claim bonus, waiting period, and other benefits would continue under the new policy, Niva Bupa ReAssure.

"It did not happen. I lost my no-claim bonus. I paid three premiums in one go. I also bought a super top-up plan from Policybazaar, but the post-policy service experience was pathetic."

Policybazaar said customer trust and transparency were its top priorities.

"This incident does not reflect the standards we uphold or the quality of service we are committed to providing. We took prompt corrective action in this case and have been assisting Ajit."

"Portability processes have now become more efficient with the introduction of Insurance Information Bureau (IIB) data, allowing insurers to fetch customers' previous policy details. Additionally, there has been a lot of digitization in the last couple of years, making the port process seamless. We continue to ensure that we consistently meet the expectations and trust of our valued customers," it said.