Skip to main content

Health Insurance - How to Port your health insurance policy

Invest In Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online

Call 0 94 8300 8300 (India)

 



Issues to look at before you switch Health insurers

 

Anand Rao, 42, was suggested by his insurance advisor to switch his health- insurance policy to a new insurer under the portability guidelines applicable since 1st October 2011. Since the benefits and features offered by the new insurer were better, Mr Rao applied for portability nearly 45 days before his policy was due.

He was in for a rude shock when he received a letter from the new insurance company stating that it would accept the proposal on the condition that any claim related to "kidney stones" would be permanently excluded. Mr Rao had a history of kidney stones and he had twice claimed for this ailment from his insurer.

In a similar case, Nitin Kumar, 46, was told to pay an additional premium because of his history of "igh BP" that he had mentioned and which was already covered in his old policy of more than five years.

Before applying for the portability option one needs to be aware of certain important portability guidelines so that one takes the most appropriate decision, since health insurance is one of those policies which one retains for years.

45 days' notice period:

All those applying for portability need to apply at least 45 days before their policies are due. The Irda has offered the new insurer the flexibility to accept an application even if a proposal is submitted within 45 days of renewal date. Normally in policies where the insured is less than 45 years of age, medical tests are waived, qualifying it as a non- medical- test policy.

In such cases, the proposed new insurer accepts portability requests up to 21 days before the due date.

Period of acceptance by new insurer:

The new insurer ( to which an applicant wishes to shift his policy) has to give its verdict regarding acceptance of the proposal within 15 days of receipt of the proposal with relevant documents. After 15 days, the new insurer has to accept such a proposal. In case of delay in processing applications and where the renewal date is approaching, the insured needs to communicate with the existing insurance company, requesting it to provide coverage for a short period not extending up to 30 days from the due date. In that case the insured has to pay a pro- rata premium to the existing insurance company. Underwriting process: The new insurance company is bound to process the proposal according to its underwriting norms. The company may accept the proposal with its standard premium if there are no claims or any pre- existing illnesses.

It can, however, charge an additional premium for any existing illness or past surgery and, in some cases, even refuse to accept a proposal if the proposal does not fit its underwriting guidelines. In other cases such as that of Rao, certain ailments may be permanently excluded.

Waiting- period clause:

The waiting period will be waived depending on the period of continuous coverage with the existing insurance company and will be applicable according to the rules of the new insurance company.

For example, if there is a two year waiting period with the existing insurance company for certain ailments such as hernia, kidney stones, etc., and if the insured has completed only one year with that company, then with the new company the insured will have to wait for that one year more to claim expenses on the ailments falling under the two- year clause. Also, if the new insurance company has a three- year waiting clause for specified illnesses, then the insured has to wait for two years more. Therefore it's very important to note the waiting- period clause of the new company. Those who have been continuously insured for more than four years without any claims, typically will be covered immediately in the new insurance company for all ailments without any waiting period.

When should you shift via portability?

Consider all aspects of your health policy such as sub- limits, noclaim bonuses, ease- of- claims procedure, etc., and compare them with other health policies. Only if you are sure that your insurer is not providing you with the best health policy consider the following. People who are young ( under 45 years) and have never claimed hospitalisation expenses related to any surgery or ailment can switch, as their proposal would come under the non- medical category and will be ported immediately. For those above 45 years of age and with a clean medical history, it is advisable to do a complete medical check- up before applying as medical reports can indicate the state of one's health.

In case any anomaly is detected, one can maintain one's existing policy.

Those who have pre- existing illness and have claimed expenses related to certain surgery can consider maintaining their present policy.

This category of people can take additional cover but it makes sense to retain the old health policy as one is sure of getting claims towards one's pre- existing illness from the old insurer, who is aware of one's health history and where one has already completed the mandatory waiting period.

Those above 45 years of age and with a clean medical history should do a complete medical check- up before applying for a new policy.

It is very important to know the waiting- period clause of the new company

Happy Investing!!

We can help. Call 0 94 8300 8300 (India)

Leave your comment with mail ID and we will answer them

OR

You can write back to us at PrajnaCapital [at] Gmail [dot] Com

---------------------------------------------

Invest in Tax Saving Mutual Funds ( ELSS Mutual Funds ) to upto Rs 1 lakh and Save tax under Section 80C.

Invest Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online

Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online

These links can be used to Purchase Mutual Funds Online that are regular also (Investment, non-tax saving)

Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs

Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Applications

These Application Forms can be used for buying regular mutual funds also

Some of the best Tax Saving Mutual Funds available ( ELSS Mutual Funds )

  1. ICICI Prudential Tax Plan Invest Online
  2. HDFC TaxSaver Invest Online
  3. DSP BlackRock Tax Saver Fund Invest Online
  4. Reliance Tax Saver (ELSS) Fund Invest Online
  5. Birla Sun Life Tax Relief '96 Invest Online
  6. IDFC Tax Advantage (ELSS) Fund Invest Online
  7. SBI Magnum Tax Gain Scheme 1993 Invest Online
  8. Sundaram Tax Saver Invest Online
  9. Edelweiss ELSS Invest Online

------------------

Best Performing Mutual Funds

    1. Largecap Funds Invest Online
      1. DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund
      2. ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund
      3. Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund
    2. Large and Midcap Funds Invest Online
      1. ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan
      2. HDFC Top 200 Fund
      3. UTI Dividend Yield Fund
    1. Mid and SmallCap Funds Invest Online
      1. Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund
      2. DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund
      3. Sundaram Select Midcap
      4. IDFC Premier Equity Fund
    1. Small and MicroCap Funds Invest Online
      1. DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund
    1. Sector Funds Invest Online
      1. Reliance Banking Fund
      2. Reliance Banking Fund
    1. Tax Saver MutualFunds Invest Online
      1. ICICI Prudential Tax Plan
      2. HDFC Taxsaver
      3. DSP BlackRock Tax Saver Fund
      4. Reliance Tax Saver (ELSS) Fund
    2. Gold Mutual Funds Invest Online
      1. Relaince Gold Savings Fund
      2. ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund
      3. HDFC Gold Fund

Popular posts from this blog

Mutual Fund Review: Taurus Tax Shield

    Taurus Tax Shield has seen a turnaround in performance since 2007, but still remains a volatile offering… The fund has seen a turnaround in its performance since 2007 and has delivered impressively during market rallies since then. The portfolio is also more diversified. It contained its downfall to an average level in 2008 but is still one of the most volatile offerings in this category. Bold investors can look at this fund.   Strategy The fund manager invests across the market capitalisation and sectors. The selection of stocks is made on the basis of long-term business prospects and value creation. Fund Insight Launched in March 1996, the fund was a laggard with just two annual outperformances. Concentrated stock bets and high exposure to mid and small caps led to it being hit harder during market downturns. The number of stocks in the portfolio never exceeded 20 and it was not rare to see the top 5 holdings account for around 60 per cent of the portfolio. After b...
Read more

NRIs and direct taxes code (DTC)

DTC Proposes To Do Away With Special Provision That Allows NRIs Liberalised Duration Of Stay In Country      THE new direct taxes code could bring a large number of global Indians under the tax net, as it does away with a provision that allowed individuals to escape tax in any country citing double tax avoidance.    The new legislation, introduced in Parliament on Monday, says an individual shall be a resident of India in any financial year if he is in the country for more than 59 days in that year, and has been has been India for more 365 days in four preceding financial years. A number of Indian industrialists including Vedanta's Anil Agarwal and Essar's Ravi Ruia have acquired non-resident status over the years.    The DTC has only attempted to clean up the provision in line with the laws globally. A phrase "being outside India" in the existing income tax law exempted individuals who stay outside the country for six months from paying taxes. This was prone ...
Read more

Stick to Good Fund Manager who Can Multiply Your Investment

A manager may be the difference between the best and worst funds. Here's how you can find the right one    Does a mutual fund manager make a difference to your investment? The answer may not be as easy as you think, since most best-performing mutual funds have moved away from individualistic fund management to process-driven methods, limiting the scope of an individual's role in investment decisions. In fact, many fund managers would speak at length about how the "system" their fund house has in place makes their task of picking stocks easy even though it restricts their freedom. Still, the question is important, especially after recent reports that the Securities and Exchange Board of India ( Sebi ) may ask fund managers to disclose to investors their track record of managing money. Let us take a look at the universe of large-cap funds over the past five years. According to Value Research, an independent mutual fund tracking firm, the topper in the category is DSP...
Read more

AXIS Long Term Equity Fund - The Best Tax Saver Fund for 2016

  AXIS Long Term Equity Fund - Invest Online   History:   The open ended mutual fund was launched on December 21 in the year 2009. It is benchmarked against BSE 200 and managed by the fund manager JINESH GOPANI. Initially the scheme was called as Axis tax saver fund but later it was renamed as Axis long term equity fund with effect from September 2, 2011. Nature of investment: As far as asset allocation is concerned, 97.52% of the stocks are equity and 0.02% is debt based. The primary focus of the fund is to invest in diversified equity stocks that have higher growth potential. Total asset size of the fund is in the tune of 4,996 CRORE as of June 30, 2015. Performance: The performance of the fund for one year, 3 years and 5 years are 23.6%, 29.9% and 19.1 respectively which are far greater than 6.4%, 14% and 5.6% benchmark figures. It has also preformed fairly well against SBI magnum Tax Gain (G) and HDFC tax saver (G). The growth comparison is enumerated below;                        ...
Read more

IDFC Classic Equity Fund

Invest In Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Application Forms Buy Gold Mutual Funds Call 0 94 8300 8300 (India)   IDFC Classic Equity Fund IDFC Classic Equity is a large-cap equity fund which currently has assets under management worth Rs. 158.52 crore. It was launched in August 2005. The fund is benchmarked against the BSE-200 Index. Performance YTD 1-Year 3-Year 5-Year Since Inception IDFC Classic Equity 0.93 26.61 6.30 1.01 11.65 BSE 200 1.52 17.31 6.00 1.99 12.98 All figures in % as on January 31, 2013; Returns above one-year in CAGR terms ...
Read more
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Invest in Tax Saving Mutual Funds Download Any Applications
Transact Mutual Funds Online Invest Online
Buy Gold Mutual Funds Invest Now