Health insurance portability and migration

What is health insurance portability?

Health insurance portability is the right of a policyholder to move an indemnity health policy from one insurer to another at renewal without losing the credit already earned for waiting periods. Migration is the same idea within one insurer: moving from one of its health products to another. In both cases the time already served counts towards the waiting period for pre-existing diseases, the specific waiting periods for listed conditions and the five-year moratorium period.

Portability exists because a waiting period of up to three years would otherwise lock a customer to an insurer whose service or pricing they no longer like.

How portability works in India

The rules sit in the IRDAI (Insurance Products) Regulations, 2024 and in two 2024 master circulars, one on health insurance business and one on protection of policyholders' interests. As of October 2026:

• Scope. All indemnity health policies of general and health insurers can be ported, whether individual, family floater or group, except personal accident and travel policies. Benefit-based policies of life insurers can be ported only where the policy terms allow it.
• What carries over. The credits for sum insured, no claim bonus, specific waiting periods, the pre-existing disease waiting period and the moratorium, to the extent of the sum insured and benefits under the previous policy.
• The whole family moves together. The application covers the entire policy with all family members on it.
• When to apply. At least 30 days, but not more than 60 days, before the renewal date. An insurer may still consider a request made within 15 days of renewal, as long as there is no break in cover.
• The process. The new (acquiring) insurer gives the customer a portability form with the proposal form. It then asks the existing insurer for the policy and claim history through the Insurance Information Bureau of India portal. The existing insurer must reply within 72 hours, and the acquiring insurer must decide within five days of receiving that data.
• Underwriting. The acquiring insurer can underwrite the proposal under its board-approved underwriting policy. Any extra sum insured above the old cover can be underwritten and carries fresh waiting periods.
• No charges. Neither insurer can charge the customer for porting in or porting out.

Migration follows similar logic. The insurer must offer migration to another of its indemnity products to the extent of the previous sum insured and benefits, and may underwrite the proposal if the person has not been continuously covered for 36 months. When an insurer withdraws a product, existing customers get a one-time option to renew it if renewal falls within 90 days of withdrawal, or they can migrate to another product of their choice.

What portability means for distribution

Portability is one of the few points in a health policy's life where a customer actively reconsiders the insurer, so it matters to both the winning and the losing distributor.

• No commission in the port-in year. Under the 2024 policyholder protection master circular, the acquiring insurer cannot pay any commission or incentive to its employees, distribution channel or the channel's staff on a ported policy during the port-in year. Advisers earn only from the following renewals. A port-in is a long-term retention play for the distributor, not a quick sale, and an adviser pushing customers to port gains nothing upfront.
• Disclosure still matters. The new insurer will see the claim history through IIB. Customers must still disclose health conditions honestly on the new proposal. A ported policy carries forward the moratorium clock, but non-disclosure in the new proposal can still create trouble at claim time if the moratorium has not been completed.
• Do not let the old policy lapse. Customers should renew the existing policy, or at least stay within the grace period, until the new insurer confirms acceptance. A gap breaks continuity and resets every credit.
• Timing calendar. Advisers who track renewal dates can start the conversation 60 days ahead. Requests that come in the last fortnight depend on the acquiring insurer's willingness.
• Group to individual. People leaving an employer's group cover can port to an individual or family policy, subject to the insurer's underwriting policy. This is a natural conversation for advisers working with employees near retirement or job change.
• Defending the book. For the losing side, port-out requests are a signal. Insurers and intermediaries often review service history, claim outcomes and renewal pricing for customers who port out, because portability makes persistency visible.

Example: what carries over

A customer has held a ₹5 lakh family floater with Insurer A for three years and has earned a ₹1 lakh cumulative bonus. The family's PED waiting period is 36 months. They port to Insurer B at renewal and take a ₹10 lakh sum insured.

• Up to the old cover (sum insured plus earned bonus, as the acquiring insurer's terms apply it), the family has already served three years, so the PED waiting period is complete.
• The additional cover above that amount is new, so the acquiring insurer can apply its waiting periods to that portion from the date of porting.
• The five-year moratorium keeps running on the original cover; for the increased amount it starts from the date of enhancement.

Portability vs migration