I transferred my health insurance policy to a new insurer last year and was thinking if such a provision exists with life policies as well. Can I switch life insurers without discontinuing a policy?
Kaushal Kumar, Noida
Unlike health insurance, where you can port a policy from one insurer to another as long as the policy is similar with both the insurer; in case of life insurance you cannot shift insurers on an existing policy. The only way to switch insurers in case of life policies is to surrender a policy and stop paying premiums and buy a new one. In case of term plans, you can simply stop paying future premiums if you want to change insurers as there is no surrender in such policies. As life policies are long-term in nature, there is no regulatory intervention which allows for one to change insurers on a single policy, as is the case with health plans.
