We had chucked the proverb “health is wealth” aside and pushed ourselves too hard professionally for long. But Covid-19 has nudged us out from the deep slumber we were all in. It’s time we took our health seriously, and by that, it not only means taking utmost care of ourselves but also procuring a good medical insurance plan for the entire family. If you think your group insurance policy has got you covered, think twice.
A group insurance scheme provides coverage only as long as you are working in that company. Your cover ceases as soon as you leave the group unless you port the plan to an individual health insurance plan from the same insurer. By porting your health plan, you can continue your benefits, such as waiting periods, without having to start afresh.
Is porting from a group plan allowed?
According to the portability guidelines under the Health Regulations 2016 issued by the IRDAI, all members of the group insurance scheme of a general insurance company or a standalone health insurance company have the right to migrate to an individual health insurance plan or a family floater scheme from the same insurer. Afterwards, the insured can even avail of further portability rights to any plan from any other insurance company.
Thus, your insurer cannot “deny” portability when you opt to continue your group plan to an individual health insurance plan.
How to port your health insurance plan?
You need to keep your last employer as well as your insurance company in the loop at the time of porting your health insurance plan. Here is the step-by-step process that you can follow to port your plan:
- Select your preferred plan under the individual health insurance policy. You can also strengthen the plan with the help of riders or add-ons.
- Initiate the process by officially communicating it to the insurer by filling out either an offline or an online form.
- Provide required documents—such as existing group plan, claim history, health profile, etc—along with the filled-in form. You may as well be asked to undergo a medical check-up and provide the insurer with the report of the same.
- Based on your information in the form, the insurer underwrites the changed policy, its terms and conditions, and the new premium.
- Once the insurer assesses your health risk and accepts your application, you are required to pay the relevant premium. However, go through the terms and conditions of your new plan before making any payments.
Check the policy you receive from the insurer and get your doubts (if any) cleared.
Benefits of porting your health insurance plan:
When you leave the group, your health insurance plan would otherwise cease. So, in order to avail of continuity benefits, you can choose to pay the premium yourself and convert the plan to an individual one from your existing group insurance policy.
There are definite benefits of porting the plan such as:
- No waiting period:
Under a group insurance plan, there is no need to serve any waiting period. In the waiting period, the number of years gets carried forward. That is for 1 year, you get a 1-year waiver on a pre-existing and specific illness. Hence, when you port your plan from group to personal health policy, your tenure under the group plan is considered as the waiting period for your personal policy.
- No claim bonus:
No claim bonus is the extra money added to the sum insured as a reward to the policyholder for every claim-free year. Alternatively, insurers also reward policyholders by offering discounts on the payable premium. Hence, you get better coverage at a lower premium. This facility, however, is offered only to individual health insurance policyholders and is not available under a group insurance scheme.
- Get comprehensive coverage:
Here, you can customize your health insurance plan as per your requirements. It provides more comprehensive coverage as compared to group insurance health plans.
You have the advantage of choosing your health insurance coverage as per your choice. Thus, you can assess your requirements carefully and then choose the plan which best suits your needs.
- Avail tax benefits:
You are eligible for a tax exemption under section 80D for the premium paid towards your health insurance plan. Now, with an individual health plan, you would be paying the premium; you can also avail of tax benefits for the same.
Points to keep in mind:
Remember that you can port your health plan only after you leave the group and not while you are still a part of the company or the group. If you happen to miss the timelines, you would not be able to continue the benefits.
Also, neither the insurer nor your company (after you have exited the same) would be very concerned about your health insurance coverage. Thus, the onus would be upon you to get the process in place.
Thus it is a good idea to opt for an individual health insurance plan even when you have group insurance cover from your employer. This is because, you will be able to continue the same cover for as long as you want. There is no risk of lack of medical coverage, even if you plan to quit your company for another role or start your entrepreneurial journey! Check out our more blogs for such facts https://blog.oneassure.in/