subject: What You Need To Know About Health Insurance Portability [print this page] Introduction
You may be annoyed that your insurer has not kept up his promise of providing you what was promised while purchasing the policy. Or you must have discovered that another policy has better features than the one who have purchased. All these and similar reasons led to health insurance portability that allows a customer to switch between insurers without losing out on the existing facilities they had.
Also known as Mediclaim portability, health insurance portability is a legal provision that allows you to switch between insurance providers and avail superior facilities the new insurer might provide. At the same time, you have the assurance that the facilities you had subscribed for with the old insurer will be retained. Using this facility, you can also change easily from a group mediclaim policy to an individual health policy or family floater policy, and still retain the waiting period credit.
Why You Need Mediclaim Portability
Medical insurance portability gives you a number of benefits, which will allow you to get the best deal possible for your valuable money. Here are some of the main benefits:
You can switch to a new insurer and avail the improved facilities.
You can retain the facilities you had with your old insurer.
For example, facilities such as pre-existing diseases cover or no claim bonus can be retained.
You can even go for a new policy with better benefits as compared to your existing health policy.
The sum assured for the new policy would include from the old policy:
othe sum assured
othe accrued benefits
What All You Must Take Care
Before you make a mediclaim portability exchange, you must know all the improved benefits of the new policy and the extra benefits you are going to obtain. This will help you avoid many problems in future. Here is a catalog of things you must be familiar with:
Renewal of a mediclaim policy takes, on an average, about 15-45 days. You must therefore approach the new insurer well in advance. You will have to undertake all the underwriting procedures as in the case of a new policyholder. You must also know that the new insurer can accept or reject your policy, as their undertaking procedures may be different from that of your old insurer.
You must have paid all the premiums of the old policy, if possible without breaks. In addition, you must know in advance how much is the sum assured that the new insurer is going to provide you. The insurer premium will change; most likely will increase, with the new insurer and policy.
A complete medical risk assessment will be done again as is done in the case of a new policy. Also, be aware of other details like how people in the senior age group are treated etc. In addition, you must be sure of the waiting period for various diseases as the waiting period differs from insurer to insurer.
You must know well all the terms and conditions of the new insurer as they may be different from that of the old insurer. Also, as per the new portability guidelines, the earned bonuses may change when you go to a new insurer.
by: easypolicy
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