Migration of health insurance policy means shifting to a different plan within your current insurance company. Whereas health insurance portability involves moving your entire policy to a new insurer.. Both options allow you to retain accrued benefits such as waiting periods, bonuses, and moratorium years. Migration requires 30 days notice before renewal, while porting needs 30 to 60 days.
How the Process Works:
Initiate Request: Apply to your current insurer for migration, or to a new insurer for porting.
Underwriting: The insurer reviews your application and medical history, then accepts, modifies, or rejects it based on its assessment.
Benefit Transfer: Once approved, your waiting periods, bonus, and moratorium period carry over up to your old sum insured, while the increased sum insured needs fresh waiting periods.
Remember to keep your old policy active until the new one is confirmed. IRDAI mandates insurers to provide both options for individual indemnity health insurance policies.
The health insurance plan you bought a few years ago may no longer be the right fit. Your needs may have changed, the features may feel outdated, or your insurer may be discontinuing the plan altogether.
But the good news is that you do not have to switch insurers to fix this. Health insurance migration allows you to switch to a better plan within your current company if you’re satisfied with your insurer but not with your plan.
This article breaks down what the migration of health insurance policy means, how it differs from portability, which IRDAI rules protect you, and how to migrate step by step. By the end, you will know exactly whether migration is the right move for you.
Migration means switching from your current health insurance plan to a different plan offered by the same insurer. Think of it like upgrading your phone plan with the same telecom provider. You are not leaving the network. You are only picking a better plan.
This Can Happen in Two Ways:
1. Voluntary Migration: This happens by your own choice. Maybe you want better features, a higher sum insured, or fewer sub-limits. For example, you might migrate from HDFC ERGO'sOptima Restore toOptima Secure because the newer plan suits you better.
2. Compulsory Migration: This happens when the insurer withdraws your existing product. You are then offered a similar or upgraded plan from the same company. For instance, when HDFC ERGO withdrew certain My Health Suraksha variants, existing policyholders were offered the option to migrate to Optima Restore.
In both cases, your accrued benefits move with you, subject to IRDAI rules and your policy terms.
Wide availability of options from different insurers
Waiting and Moratorium Period Carryover
Yes
Yes
Bonus Carry Forward
Yes, if SI is increased (depending on the insurer)
Yes, if SI is increased (depending on the insurer)
Underwriting
Not always required, depends on how long the person has been with the insurer
Mandatory every single time, insurers are a bit more skeptical here
Notice Period
Minimum 30 days before renewal
30 to 60 days before renewal
Approval Odds
Higher, since the insurer knows your medical and claim history
Lower, since you're a new risk to the insurer
Paperwork Involved
Minimal
Extensive
IRDAI Rules and Continuity Benefits
No Break in Coverage: Your policy must stay active without gaps, the new policy starts from the very next day after your old policy ends. Insurers do provide a short grace period of 15 to 30 days after the last date of renewal.
Transfer of Credits: Waiting and moratorium periods that you have already completed with your current insurer, such as those for pre-existing diseases, carry forward fully to your new plan.
Sum Insured Guarantee: Continuity benefits apply only up to your previous base SI. Choosing a higher sum insured means serving a fresh waiting period on the extra amount.
Accrued Bonuses: Your no-claim bonus usually carries forward as well in case of an increase in SI, subject to the insurer's board-approved policies.
Underwriting and Acceptance: The insurer is not automatically bound to accept your request. It can accept, modify, or reject your application after assessing your medical profile and claims history.
Insurer's Response Time: If underwriting is required during the migration, IRDAI states that the insurer must convey its decision to the policyholder within 15 days.
Product Withdrawal Notice: If your insurer is discontinuing your plan, it must inform you at least 90 days before expiry (renewal), giving you time to calmly choose a replacement.
CTA
Eligibility and When You Can Migrate
Migration is not available to everyone in the same way. Here is when it tends to work best.
Happy With the Insurer
If you are satisfied with your insurer's claims experience, service quality, and hospital network, but not with your current plan, migration is usually a better choice than porting.
Continuity Benefits
Since the insurer already knows your policy and claims history, four or more years of continuous coverage usually make migration smoother.
High Underwriting Risk
If you have developed conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, or cardiac issues, migrating within your insurer is often safer than porting. This is because a new insurer may reject your application or apply a loading (extra premium).
Individual to Floater (or Vice Versa)
If your family's needs have changed, you can migrate from an individual policy to a family floater plan with the same insurer, subject to the insurer's rules.
Quick Eligibility Checklist
You hold an individual or family floater indemnity health insurance policy.
Migration is requested at least 30 days before the renewal date.
No breaks or lapses in the current coverage.
If the insurer is withdrawing the plan, it must reach out first with replacement options.
Step-by-Step Migration Process
Here is how the migration process works:
Reach out to your current insurer at least 30 days before your renewal date.
Ask about migrating to a specific plan and get clarity on exactly how its features differ from your current one.
Hand over your existing policy documents, medical records, and ID proof as requested.
Once reviewed, the insurer issues your new policy, carrying your earned benefits forward from day 1.
Note: Hold on to your old claim records and policy documents. You may need them later to verify details or support a future claim.
Common Mistakes to Avoid During Migration of a Health Insurance Policy
Do not let your old policy lapse before the new one is confirmed, or you risk a coverage gap.
Assuming your full sum insured carries over automatically can backfire. Any increase, usually a new add-on or feature, needs a fresh waiting period and underwriting.
Hiding pre-existing health conditions from your insurer can lead to a claim being rejected later or, worse, to policy cancellation, even within the same company.
Applying after the 30-day window can delay your request past your renewal date.
Skipping a detailed feature comparison can leave you with a plan that does not actually suit your needs.
Why Choose Ditto for Health Insurance?
At Ditto, we’ve assisted over 8,00,000 customers with choosing the right insurance policy. Why customers like Pallavi below love us:
No-Spam & No Salesmen
Rated 4.9/5 on Google Reviews by 25,000+ happy customers
Before you switch anything, ask yourself one question: is the problem with your plan, or with your insurer itself?
If you are happy with your insurer's claims process, hospital network, and service, but your plan no longer fits your needs, migration is usually the simpler path. It is faster, involves less paperwork, and can skip fresh underwriting if you have stayed with the same insurer for four years or more.
If the real issue lies with the insurer, migration will not fix that. Repeated claim rejections or a weak hospital network in your city calls for a different insurer altogether, not just a different plan with the same one.
Before you commit either way, check your insurer's claim settlement ratio and hospital network throughDitto's Data Lab, and read the new plan's waiting period and sub-limit terms closely through our understand your health insurance policy tool. A few minutes of comparison now can save you from a claim rejection later.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is migration in health insurance?
Health insurance migration lets you switch from your current plan to a different plan offered by the same insurer, without losing the benefits you have already built up. This includes transferring credits for pre-existing diseases and time-bound exclusions. Newer plans also come with features that did not exist when you first bought your policy, like unlimited restoration, higher no-claim bonuses, and wellness rewards that lower your premium based on activity. At Ditto, we tell customers that migration is the simplest fix when you like your insurer but have outgrown your plan.
What is the difference between migration and portability in health insurance?
Migration moves you to a new plan within your same insurer. Portability moves your entire policy to a different insurer altogether. Both offer benefits such as carryover of waiting periods, bonuses, and moratorium period, but porting requires more paperwork and stricter underwriting because you are a new risk to that insurer. Migration usually needs just 30 days' notice before renewal, while porting needs 30 to 60 days. At Ditto, we recommend migration first if your only complaint is the plan, not the company.
Does migration affect my waiting period for pre-existing diseases?
No, migration protects the waiting periods you have already served for pre-existing diseases, up to your old sum insured. For example, if you had a ₹15 lakh policy and served the full 3-year PED waiting period, that credit carries over. But if you migrate to a ₹20 lakh plan, the extra ₹5 lakh starts a fresh 3-year waiting period, in addition to the initial and specific illness waiting periods. Your moratorium period and no-claim bonus transfer too, subject to your insurer's board-approved policy. Policyholders do not lose ground simply by upgrading their plan.
Is there a fee for migrating my health insurance policy?
No, insurers cannot charge you a separate fee just for migrating your policy. As per IRDAI's guidelines, migration is a right given to policyholders, not a paid service, so insurers cannot levy an exclusive switching charge. You may still see a premium difference if your new plan has a higher sum insured or richer features, but that reflects the new plan's cost, not a migration fee. If an insurer tries to charge otherwise, flag it immediately. At Ditto, we always clarify this distinction before customers make the switch.
What happens to my no-claim bonus when I migrate health insurance?
Your accumulated no-claim bonus usually carries forward as an increased sum insured when you migrate, subject to your insurer's board-approved policy. For example, if you had a ₹10 lakh base policy with a 50% no-claim bonus, your effective cover of ₹15 lakh carries over to the new plan. The extra cover you earned for staying claim-free does not vanish just because you switched plans. That said, this carry-forward is not automatic in every case, so confirm it in writing with your insurer before finalizing. At Ditto, we advise getting this on record.
What happens if I increase my sum insured during migration?
Continuity benefits, such as waiting-period credit, only apply up to your previous sum insured. If you opt for a higher sum insured while migrating, that additional amount is treated as fresh coverage and requires a new waiting period, including for pre-existing conditions. This is one of the most common misunderstandings among policyholders, since many assume the entire new sum insured automatically carries the same protections. If you have accumulated bonuses, they can be carried forward as increased sum insured without the waiting periods. At Ditto, we always clarify this distinction before clients finalize a higher cover amount.
Can my insurer reject my health insurance policy migration request?
Yes, the insurer is not obligated to automatically approve every migration request. It can accept, modify, or reject your application after reviewing your risk profile, medical history, and claims record. That said, approval odds are generally higher with migration than with porting. Insurers prefer retaining existing customers to onboarding new ones, and they already have your full claims and medical history, making their risk assessment far more predictable. If your request is modified or rejected, ask for the underwriting reason in writing so you can address it. In case of compulsory migration due to product withdrawal, this cannot be rejected.
Why do insurers prefer migration over porting?
Migration keeps the customer and premium revenue within the same company, so the insurer incurs zero acquisition cost. They also already hold your complete claim and medical history, which makes underwriting far more predictable than relying on documents from another insurer. Ported customers, on the other hand, raise concerns about adverse selection, since a customer switching insurers might expect high medical costs soon. The exception is a young, healthy individual with no claims history, for whom insurers may actively welcome the business. At Ditto, we use this dynamic to help clients understand why migration approvals tend to go smoother.
Last updated on:
Need a human touch?
Our advisors are here to help you pick the right plan.
Our advisors are here to help you pick the right plan.
