When Is It That You Should Consider Porting Your Health Insurance Policy?

The cost of medical treatments are skyrocketing considering the growth of medical technology and its related costs. That makes a health insurance plan not just an added luxury to have, but a necessity to not ignore. There are no laws that make it compulsory unlike motor insurance plans, but that should not deter you from buying one. With a health insurance policy, you can ensure financial safeguard knowing any unexpected medical emergencies can be dealt without having to break your bank. 

However, selecting a policy can often be a daunting experience considering the myriad plans to choose from. While some of you may purchase one at the eleventh hour, it often results in dissatisfaction of coverage or other reasons that make it necessary to reconsider the insurance coverage. This article mentions some of the situations when you should be reconsidering the porting of your health insurance cover to a different insurer. 

The regulator, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, IRDAI allows the portability of health insurance plans in the interest of the policyholder, i.e. you. You can visit the official website of IRDAI for further details. Here are the different situations when you should consider doing it:

#1 Inadequate services

It might happen that you end up buying a policy in a haste or on the last moment without carefully examining the coverage it has on offer. This often results in a policy with inadequate coverage, or a policy that does not meet its expectations. At this time, with the help of health insurance portability, you can opt for a policy that provides comprehensive coverage. Thus, when selecting a plan, make sure to compare health insurance covers and then finalise on one. You can visit the official website of IRDAI for further details.

#2 No additional coverage

Another instance when portability must be considered is when your current insurance company is not providing coverage for ailments that you seek to insure specifically. As this will be a case where the policy offers coverage for all those ailments that have a remote possibility and leave out the highly probable medical treatments. This can also be due to the limitations in underwriting the insurance cover. 

#3 Alternative plans are available

When the competitor insurance companies offer a better coverage for ailments, lower out-of-pocket expenses and less intrusive policy terms, higher age-limits for its coverage, no limitations on the expenses and the like,  it is advisable to change your insurance company. This will aid to avail the maximum advantage from your insurance policy. As the number of insurance companies increase, it often encourages insurers to offer better products at an affordable price. 

#4 Hidden clauses in policy terms

It may be the case with some insurance policies that include certain terms of the policy that are not specifically stated, but as an implied result of many clauses in effect. These create problems for you, the policyholder, in transparency of your insurance coverage. Thus, it is best to depart from such insurance companies and opt for one that have clear terms of contract helping you make a prudent choice of policy. 

These are some situations when choosing the porting option offers advantage. You can visit the official website of IRDAI for further details. A health insurance premium calculator is a nifty tool that can be used to assess the impact of portability on the premium amount. While insurance is the subject matter of solicitation, for more details on benefits, exclusions, limitations, terms and conditions, you can refer the sales brochure/policy wording carefully before concluding a sale.