How to Port Your Existing Corporate Health Insurance After Job Change in India [2025 Guide]

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Changing jobs is surely exciting but its challenging. It also brings some uncertainty, especially in insurance i.e. healthcare coverage. If you are only relying on your employer’s group health insurance, you will lose your protection after leaving the current job. Thankfully, IRDAI allow you to port your employer-provided corporate (group) health insurance to an individual policy so that you can enjoy seniority (date of first inception) benefits in the upcoming policy.

In this comprehensive 2025 guide, software engineers and IT professionals need to understand that porting corporate health insurance will enable to have seniority of coverage after leaving or switching jobs—without losing benefits.

What Does ‘Porting’ Mean in Health Insurance?

Health insurance porting is transferring of your existing health insurance policy from one insurance company to another or from one policy type (group) to another policy type (individual), without losing continuity benefits like:

  • Waiting periods for pre-existing diseases (you might have already undergone waiting period in previous policy, no need to start the waiting period again)
  • No Claim Bonus (NCB) or Cumulative Bonus / No Claim Discount
  • Coverage history, Date of First Inception of coverage will be maintained

Types of Porting:

  1. Group to Individual Policy (from employer’s group plan to individual retail plan)
  2. Insurer to Insurer i.e. one company to another (retail policy switch)

This guide focuses on porting from corporate policy to individual retail plans.

What is the Need to Port Corporate Health Insurance?

  1. Insurance coverage Ends When Job Ends: Once you leave the existing company on resignation or if you are laid off, the group policy ceases to cover you and your family leaving you all uninsured.
  2. Maintain Continuity: Porting is the way to retain waiting periods that you have already completed under the expiring group policy.
  3. Avoid New Waiting Periods: Without doing porting, your new insurer may impose 2 to 4 years of waiting periods for common illnesses.
  4. Tax Benefits: Premiums paid by you for the individual policy are tax-deductible under Section 80D under Old Tax Regime.
  5. More Control: You will have more control over choosing sum insured, add-ons (some call it riders), and insurer according to your needs and preferences—not as per your employer’s budget or needs.

Who Can Avail the Facility of Porting Group to Individual Policy?

✅ Employees who are leaving the job or switching to another company
✅ Retiring employees who are not covered after superannuation
✅ Employees laid off during downsizing or recession (common term heard in IT field)
✅ Dependents (spouse, children, parents) covered under the group plan need more coverage

Eligibility Conditions for Availing Porting:

  • Must have been covered under the group health policy for at least 1 year
  • Most importantly, Porting request should be initiated at least 45 days before the policy expires or your last working day (if it is more than 45 days of last date of policy)
  • Must opt for a similar sum insured (or higher with underwriting) in the porting policy
  • Applicable for only Indian-registered insurance companies

Step-by-Step Process to Port Corporate Health Insurance to Retail Health Policy (2025)

Step 1: Inform the Insurance Company in Advance

Submit a written request for porting to the existing insurance company or the new insurance company 45 to 60 days before policy expiry (don’t wait till exact 45 days, start early).

Along with written request, submit previous / expiring insurance policy with certificate of coverage (stating the date of first inception of policy) issued by existing insurer

Step 2: Choose the New Individual Policy

Select a retail health insurance plan from the same insurer or another IRDAI-approved company. Compare:

  • Sum insured (generally, lower or same sum insured allowed; later you can enhance SI during next renewal)
  • OPD, maternity, and mental health coverage, etc addons to be selected
  • Premiums & sub-limits; check copay, network hospitals, etc.

Step 3: Fill Proposal Form (be clear & disclose all necessary information) & Submit Documents

You need to submit:

  • Duly filled proposal form with signature and passport photo affixed
  • Existing group policy certificate, mentioning the date of first inception of policy
  • Previous policy copies (if applicable) (whatever available)
  • ID & address proof (necessary in most companies)
  • Medical history (if requested, tests based on the sum insured, age, etc underwriting factors of porting policy)

Step 4: Wait for Underwriting & Approval

  • Insurer will analyze and assess risk based on age, PEDs, claims history, etc factors
  • Medical tests may be required, based on age, sum insured and other factors based on proposal form
  • If approved, new policy is issued with continuity benefits; make sure to check the date of first inception of policy mentioned in the new policy

Step 5: Pay Premium & Start New Policy

Once proposal is accepted and communicated to you, pay the premium. The new retail individual plan will begin with:

  • Retained waiting period benefits, so new waiting periods will not apply
  • Continued coverage giving you peace of mind during career transitions

Top Insurance Companies That Allow Corporate to Individual Porting

All insurance companies need to allow porting as per IRDAI guidelines, but acceptance of proposal depends on underwriting philosophy of each company and each product

Insurer

Porting Allowed

Popular Retail Plans

Niva Bupa

✅

ReAssure 2.0, Health Companion

HDFC ERGO

✅

Optima Restore

Star Health

✅

Star Comprehensive Plan

Care Health

✅

Care Supreme, Care Advantage

Aditya Birla

✅

Activ Health Platinum

ICICI Lombard

✅

Health AdvantEdge

Important Things You Should Keep in Mind

  1. You Can Upgrade Sum Insured, if Required
    • If you want to go for a higher sum insured than the existing policy, the continuity benefit applies only up to previous limit.
    • Extra sum insured may have new waiting periods.
    • Some insurance companies will not allow increase in sum insured, even if they agree, the above rule will apply i.e. continuity benefits will apply only to previous SI limit.
  2. Riders May Vary and Terminology will also be Different
    • Group insurance policy may have maternity, OPD, or accident riders/addons—these are not always included in retail policies.
  3. Not Possible to Reject Without Reason
    • Once you have applied for porting as per the guidelines, take acknowledgement of your application with date of submission.
    • If insurers are rejecting your porting application, insurers must provide a reply i.e. written explanation for denial of porting application, under IRDAI rules.
  4. Your Employer May Not Keep you Informed
    • Many companies / employers don’t proactively educate employees. They just provide basic details as per employee benefits. You need to take initiative and ask for more information at the concerned authorities / departments.
  5. Porting Works Best (will not be rejected) If You’re Healthy
    • Even though porting is allowed, it depends on the underwriting guidelines of porting policy. If you’re in good health, most insurers don’t have any reason to reject porting and they will issue policy easily with simple underwriting.

Real-Life Example: Porting Scenario

Case: Akshay, 33, quits his current job at Infosys for job switching

  • Covered under employer-provided group policy of ₹5 lakh for past 3 years
  • His spouse and one child are dependents on the plan
  • His resignation date is June 1, 2025

What Akshay Did:

  1. He has sent porting request to Care Health for a retail policy on May 15, 2025
  2. Submitted coverage certificate, proposal form, ID proof
  3. Opted for ₹10 lakh Care Supreme plan after checking coverage, copay, etc factors
  4. Completed a medical test (no major illness) as there is increase in sum insured
  5. New policy issued with continuity benefits up to ₹5 lakh, another 5 Lakhs will not have continuity benefits but will have coverage as per latest policy only

Now he and his family is covered for future illnesses without worrying about starting the waiting periods from square one.

Comparison: Corporate Group Plan vs Ported Individual Plan

Feature

Group Insurance

Ported Retail Insurance

Premium Paid By

Employer

Employee

Coverage Tenure

Tied to job

Lifetime renewable

Portability

Ends with job

Porting ensures continuity

Add-on Control

Employer decides

You choose riders

Claim Limits

Often capped

Customizable

Tax Benefits

No

Yes (Section 80D of Old Tax Regime)

FAQs on Porting Corporate Health Insurance to Retail Policy in India

Q1. Can I port after leaving the job?
You but the request for porting should be before 45 days of existing policy last date. He /she should ideally start the process of porting before you leave. Some insurance companies allow within 30 days post-resignation, but don’t take risk in this regard.

Q2. Will my entire family be covered in ported plan?
Yes, they can be covered. If they were dependents in the expiring group plan, they can be covered in the individual policy also.

Q3. Will maternity benefits continue after porting?
Subjective. Only if the retail individual plan has the coverage and you’ve already completed waiting period in group plan. Check with insurer and specific policy.

Q4. Can I port to another insurer entirely?
Yes, its possible. You can port from employer plan (Insurer A) to personal plan (Insurer B) subject to the condition that both the companies are IRDAI-registered insurance companies.

Q5. Do I need a medical test while porting?
Depends. It will be decided based on age, health history, sum insured, etc. Many insurers don’t require tests for healthy individuals below 45, and if no adverse conditions indicated in proposal form.

Pro Tips to Maximize Porting Success

  • Act Early: Start the process of porting 45 days before your exit or last date of coverage.
  • Negotiate With Same Insurer: It’s generally easier to port with the same insurer who has issued the group plan.
  • Buy Higher Coverage If Affordable: Don’t forget to count in medical inflation. Opt for minimum of ₹10 lakh+ coverage per person.
  • Use Online Brokers or aggregators (Policybazaar, Ditto, Coverfox): The online tools will simplify paperwork and assist with insurer coordination. But again, its individual discretion. Some people will be comfortable if someone explains them the policies. Some others are okay with grasping online information and navigating websites and apps.
  • Don’t Wait for a Health Scare: Use the option of porting while healthy and when opportunity is available, to avoid exclusions or rejections.
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Porting your corporate employer-provided health insurance after a job change or resignation is possible and is highly beneficial. With rising medical costs and career changes, a personal health plan will provide uninterrupted coverage for you and your family. Don’t leave your health to your employer’s hands—take individual policy to get more control. Port smartly and avail benefits of continuous coverage and waiver of waiting periods.

Stay proactive and stay protected, because job changes shouldn’t impact your healthcare security.


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