You will need lots of support
The terms and conditions of an insurance contract are not easy to understand. Buying correct health insurance is not easy; porting of insurance will be as difficult. You have to accept the terms of the new insurer and may lose some of the benefits you already had with the existing insurer. Here are some tips for you.
• Advises Fali Poncha: “Policyholders have to understand the sub-limits, co-pays and other terms of the new policy before porting. It will entail finding a policy with more or less same terms. If you want to increase the sum insured, the differential sum insured will be treated as a new application and rules for the new customer will be applicable for it.”
• Some private insurers have already started plans to poach customers with portability. If you already have a policy with one of the four public-sector insurers with a life-long renewal, why would you port to a private insurer offering maximum renewal age? Look for private insurers with life-long renewals.
• Check if you will need to undergo a medical test.
• Give ample time for the portability process to work. Apply for portability at least 45 days before the expiry of the existing policy. This will give time to the new insurance company to do a medical test, retrieve information from the existing insurance company and then underwrite and accept the risk.
• If you are confused, don’t port. The customer looking to port should preferably employ a broker to get good guidance and advice regarding the insurance company to select. The customer does not pay the broker.
Inside story of the National Stock Exchange’s amazing success, leading to hubris, regulatory capture and algo scam
Fiercely independent and pro-consumer information on personal finance.
1-year online access to the magazine articles published during the subscription period.
Access is given for all articles published during the week (starting Monday) your subscription starts. For example, if you subscribe on Wednesday, you will have access to articles uploaded from Monday of that week.
This means access to other articles (outside the subscription period) are not included.
Articles outside the subscription period can be bought separately for a small price per article.
Fiercely independent and pro-consumer information on personal finance.
30-day online access to the magazine articles published during the subscription period.
Access is given for all articles published during the week (starting Monday) your subscription starts. For example, if you subscribe on Wednesday, you will have access to articles uploaded from Monday of that week.
This means access to other articles (outside the subscription period) are not included.
Articles outside the subscription period can be bought separately for a small price per article.
Fiercely independent and pro-consumer information on personal finance.
Complete access to Moneylife archives since inception ( till the date of your subscription )
What IRDA has done in the name of Portability is a half baked circular, if at all it can be considered to be one. It is full of gaping loop holes that make the entire exercise abort before take off.A lot of them need to be ironed out before it is operationalized on july 1,2011.Else it will be like the cartoon literally jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
Unfortunately more particularly for the elders, moving away from the existing insurer and another refusing cover can be dangerous to say the least.
IRDA has necessarily to build in safeguards to come out uninjured from this 'loveless marriage' with a seamless divorce.
MoneyLife with the Insurance Brokers needs to come out with BASIC policies with essential features.After the common insured seek simple Health Hospitalization covers. More light needed on Critical Illness covers that most agents don't promote, god knows why!
In response to Hoshang Nekoo, I'd like to clarify that most of them indulge in mis-selling as they are not at all conversant with the policies. They just want to complete their quotas. They simply play the vanishing trick when it comes to rendering assistance in filing claims. I know of an agent advising a senior CA that he'd have to forego no claim bonus for a overnight hospital claim on a policy where the NCB is a mere 5% increase in the sum insured that has a 30% cap that was reached. Most of the agents are part timers not fully equipped to answer deeper queries.