Portability
What it means, and what it does to a claim.
Moving your health policy to a different insurer without losing the waiting periods you have already served.
Why it matters
This is what stops a bad insurer from holding you hostage. You keep your continuity credit, so switching after three years does not mean serving the pre-existing-disease wait again. It has to be started well before renewal — usually 45 days — and the new insurer can still underwrite you, so it is a right to be considered, not a guarantee of acceptance.
The legal definition
Portability means a facility provided to the health insurance policyholders (including all members under family cover), to transfer the credits gained for, pre-existing diseases and specific waiting periods from one insurer to another insurer.
Quoted verbatim from an IRDAI-filed policy wording. Definitions are standardised across insurers, but the limits attached to them are not — always read your own policy schedule.
Related terms
- Break in Policy — A gap between one policy period ending and the next beginning, because the premium was not paid in time.
- Migration — Moving to a different policy with the same insurer while keeping the waiting-period credit you have already built up.
- Pre-existing disease (PED) — Any condition you were diagnosed with, or got medical advice or treatment for, in the years before the policy started.
- Waiting Period — A stretch of time at the start of a policy when certain conditions are not covered yet.
Disclaimer: Figures shown here are compiled from IRDAI annual reports and public grievance disclosures, and from insurer public disclosures and policy wordings. Claim settlement ratios and complaint volumes are three-year averages for FY 2024–26. Premiums are indicative illustrations for the stated profile, not quotes — your actual premium depends on your age, health, city, habits and underwriting. Scores are Myinsurancebro's own assessment. Always read the official policy document and speak to an advisor before buying. Myinsurancebro is an IRDAI-licensed insurance advisor — we do not manufacture or underwrite any insurance product.