Can I port my group insurance plan into an individual policy?
—Name withheld on request Similar to the provision allowing portability between individual health insurance policies, there is also a provision for portability from group plans to individual plans. Under this provision, an employee covered by a group plan with an insurer can switch to an individual plan with the same insurer upon leaving the group. The primary benefit is a reduction in the waiting period that would be applied under the individual retail plan.
The duration for which the employee was continuously covered under the group plan with the same insurer is subtracted from the waiting period of the individual plan. However, several points should be noted regarding the porting from group to individual plans. Firstly, porting can only occur within the same insurer as the group insurer; an employee cannot switch to a new insurer upon leaving the group.
Once the retail plan is issued, the policyholder can port to the retail plans of other insurers in subsequent years. Secondly, the plan features will align with those of the individual plan, not the group plan. Therefore, if the retail plan includes OPD benefits, those benefits will be available.
If there are no OPD benefits in the retail plan, they cannot be added or customized. Thirdly, the residual waiting period after the set-off is still applicable for the employee. For example, if the original waiting period in the retail plan was four years and the person stayed in the group for two years, the set-off would be only for two years.
Fourthly, the waiver of the waiting period applies to the same sum assured as prevalent in the group. If the person opts for a higher sum assured, the original waiting period will apply to the incremental sum assured. Fifthly, the
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