Switching insurance companies: Should you discontinue your policy or buy a new one?

In case of health insurance policies, there is a condition called waiting period. It applies to certain diseases and their treatment. For example, some insurance plans have a waiting period of 2 years for covering treatment of kidney stones, piles, hernias, cataracts, etc. from the date of purchase of the first insurance policy. At any time if you decide to shift to a new insurance company, you will again have to face a waiting period in a new policy.

Instead, you should opt for insurance porting. Porting is a mechanism in which your first insurance company transfers the details of your policy period and claim history to your next insurance company. When this happens, insurance rules allow the waiting period to be relaxed in the next policy equal to the number of years you were covered in the first policy.

However, there is one catch. You can port from one insurance company to another only at the time of renewal of your current policy. If you miss to port at renewal, you will, unfortunately, have to wait for one full year to be able to port out from the current policy. Even then, it is advisable to always port because it gives you the benefit of continuity and reduces or eliminates the waiting period in the next insurance company.