Abel Wyatt
Are you planning to switch jobs? Have you considered the possibility of continuing your group health insurance👨👨👧👦 cover even after leaving your current job? Usually, employees do not consider group insurance while switching jobs. But, you can certainly choose to either continue with the group insurance policy by porting it to an individual policy or discontinue it.
This article covers what happens to your group medical🩺 insurance when you switch jobs and how can you port your group insurance to individual insurance.
What happens to Group Medical Health Insurance when you Switch 🔀 Jobs?
Most employees do not think about group medical insurance while switching jobs. But, it is an important question. As per the IRDA norms, you need to intimate the insurer about the group insurance before leaving the job. To be fair, you get a grace period of 5 days after switching jobs. But let’s look at the scenarios regarding group health insurance while switching jobs.
- Scenario – 1: You can discontinue the ongoing employees’ insurance and apply for another group insurance with the new employer.
- Scenario – 2: You can apply for porting the group insurance policy to an individual policy.
Can You Port Group Health Insurance?
As per the guidelines of IRDA 🏢, if you want to continue with the same health insurance policy after leaving your job, you can apply for porting the policy from a group medical insurance to individual health insurance. Here is the detailed procedure of porting a group health policy when you switch your job:
Step – 1: Submit the Form & Required Documents
- Fill & Submit the Porting Form 🧾: You have to fill out a request form prescribed by IRDA and apply for porting your group insurance policy to an individual policy. Usually, you need to submit the form 45 days before renewal so that the processing can be done.
- Submit the existing Policy Details: Along with your application, you need to submit the details of the existing group insurance policy.
- Submit the Medical History Records 📁: The premium of the individual policy is different from that of the group medical insurance. Hence, you need to submit your medical records to the insurer based on which the premium amount is calculated.
- Submit the Declarations: The insurance company might ask you to submit declarations regarding your income and pre-existing conditions that are considered under the waiting time.
- Medical Tests 💉: Your insurer can ask you to get some medical test reports to diagnose whether you are suffering from a condition that is included under waiting time.
Step – 2: Processing of the Policy
Once you submit your application, the insurer starts processing your request. It includes assessing your information and calculating the risk involved in the proposal. After the proposal is verified, your insurer underwrites the policy. This process needs to be completed within 15 days of the application date.
Step – 3: Payment of the Policy Premium 💵
The insurance company will calculate the premium charge for your policy and ask you to deposit the amount. After payment of the first premium, your policy will commence.
Can You Port Group Insurance to a Different Insurer?
❌ No! It is very important to keep this in mind while switching jobs. You can get a group insurance policy ported only with your current insurer. IRDA doesn’t allow you to switch between insurers. If you wish to change the insurer, you can discontinue the group insurance and apply for an individual policy with a different insurer.
Benefits ✔️ of Porting your Group Medical Policy
Here are the benefits of porting your group health insurance policy to an individual policy.
- Comprehensive Coverage ⛱️: Unlike a group insurance policy,an individual policy provides complete coverage of all major costs for the policyholders and their families.
- Customized Policy: Group insurance policies have standard terms and conditions and a standard cover. Whereas you can customize the individual policy, the persons covered can also take add-on covers to increase coverage.
- Enhance Policy Cover: Usually, group insurance policies provide a standard cover to the policyholders, whereas you can choose the coverage amount when converting to the individual policy.
- Carry Forward of Waiting Period 🛑: Suppose you have a group health policy with a waiting period of 3 years for your disease. After the lapse of 2 years, you apply to convert it into an individual policy. The waiting period for the disease in the individual policy will be 1 year only.
Disadvantages ➖ of Porting Group Medical Policy
Here are the disadvantages of the porting group insurance policy to an individual policy.
- Porting only allowed close to the Renewal Date: Usually, porting your policy is allowed only when the policy is close to the renewal date. Hence, it can be a problem if you plan to switch jobs in the middle of the year.
- Changes in Plan: While porting a group mediclaim insurance, you cannot choose to change your plan. You have to stick to the same plan on changing to an individual policy.
- Extra Premium: Whether or not you choose to increase your health insurance coverage, the insurer will charge more premium from you. This is because the scalability discount offered to the company might not be available to an individual policyholder. Additionally, you need to pay an extra premium for increasing your coverage amount.
Your decision to either discontinue the group insurance or port it into an individual policy depends on the additional benefits ➕ of porting and the extra premium payable. With Plum Insurance, you can easily purchase a group health policy for your employees. You can manage your policy online as well as through WhatsApp. So, subscribe now and enjoy!
