How does waiting-period credit work when I port my health policy, and what if a claim is rejected after porting?

When you port, the new insurer must credit the waiting periods and moratorium you have already served under your old policy, up to the sum insured and benefits you had before. Credit does not extend to a higher sum insured you take with the new insurer, so check how the new wording treats that portion. If a claim is rejected after porting for a waiting period, check whether the insurer counted your earlier years — your old schedules and portability papers are the evidence.

Portability lets you move an indemnity health policy from one insurer to another and keep the credit you have earned for pre-existing disease and specific waiting periods. This page explains how that credit is carried and what to check if it seems to have been lost. It does not tell you whether to port — that depends on the terms of the two policies.^[1]

Who can port, and how it works

Indemnity health policies of general and health insurers — individual, family floater and group — can be ported at renewal; personal accident and travel policies cannot. Porting is subject to the new insurer's board-approved underwriting policy, so it can still underwrite your proposal.^{[1, 2]}

1. 1

   Apply in the window

   Apply to the new insurer at least 30 days, but not earlier than 60 days, before your renewal date. Insurers may consider a request made within 15 days of renewal, but must then make sure there is no break in policy.^[2]

2. 2

   Fill in the portability form

   The new insurer gives you a portability form that authorises it to obtain your policy and claim information from your existing insurer; you submit it with a proposal form.^[2]

3. 3

   Data is shared and a decision made

   The existing insurer must furnish your data within 72 hours of the request, and the new insurer must decide within 5 days of receiving it.^[2]

4. 4

   No charges

   Neither insurer may charge you for porting in or out.^[2]

What credit carries over

You are entitled to transfer the credits gained — sum insured, no claim bonus, specific waiting periods, the pre-existing disease waiting period and the moratorium — from the old insurer to the new one, to the extent of the sum insured and benefits in the previous policy. The two insurers must make sure your underwriting details and claim history move across.^{[3, 1]}

If a claim is rejected after porting

1. 1

   Read the clause in the letter

   A health rejection must give full details with reference to the specific policy terms relied on. Note which waiting period it names and the start date it used.^[3]

2. 2

   Compare it with your chain of cover

   Your schedule must show the date from which you have been continuously covered by any insurer. If it shows only the new insurer's start date, that is the first thing to challenge.^[2]

3. 3

   Gather the porting evidence

   Previous schedules, renewal receipts, the portability form and the acceptance letter show what was carried across.

4. 4

   Check whether the condition was disclosed

   The 36-month cap on the pre-existing disease waiting period applies to diseases disclosed when you applied. Non-disclosure is argued differently — see non-disclosure rejections.^[1]

5. 5

   Complain in writing

   Ask the insurer's grievance officer to recount the waiting period with the ported credit. It should resolve your complaint within 14 days, with reasons if it does not accept it.^[4]

ClaimAssure is an independent private platform. It is not an insurer, IRDAI, Bima Bharosa or the Insurance Ombudsman, it never files anything on your behalf, and it cannot promise any outcome. What it does is read your documents and show you what they say.

More on understanding your policy