What happens to my health insurance if I change jobs?

Asked 22 Feb 2026·4456 views

I am planning to switch jobs from my current IT company to a new one. My current employer provides a group health insurance cover of ₹5 lakhs for employees and ₹2 lakhs for parents. The new company offers ₹3 lakhs cover for employees only, with no parent coverage. What are my options to maintain continuous health coverage? Will my existing policy cover any pre-existing conditions when I get a new individual policy? Is porting group insurance to individual policy possible?

Asked by Rajesh Kumar

3 Answers

When you switch jobs, your group health insurance coverage typically ends on your last working day. Some employers allow a continuation benefit for 30-60 days. For pre-existing conditions, under IRDAI guidelines, if you port to another insurer within 60 days of leaving the group plan, waiting periods for pre-existing conditions are carried forward. Your 3 years of continuous group coverage would count toward the pre-existing disease waiting period.

Answered by Vikram Mehta · 26 Feb 2026

Buy an individual floater policy before leaving — don't wait. Most health policies have a 3-4 year waiting period for pre-existing conditions. If you buy it now and keep paying premiums while still employed, the waiting period keeps ticking. By the time you switch, you may have already served some of that period. Consider adding parents to the individual policy now while they are likely still healthy enough for easy underwriting.

Answered by Priya Sharma · 26 Feb 2026

The new company's ₹3 lakh cover is inadequate. Supplement it with a top-up individual policy of ₹10-15 lakhs with a deductible of ₹3 lakhs — these are much cheaper than full coverage plans and cover catastrophic events your group policy won't.

Answered by Rajesh Kumar · 24 Feb 2026