Portability

Portability is your right to move a health insurance policy to a different insurer without losing the waiting periods you have already served. IRDAI requires the new insurer to credit continuous coverage from your earliest policy start date, so a three-year wait already completed does not restart. Apply at least 30 days before renewal — porting is only possible at renewal, not mid-term. The new insurer still underwrites you and may decline, load the premium or exclude a condition, and any increase in sum insured carries a fresh wait on the additional amount.