New Delhi, Sept. 14 -- Every renewal cycle, an all-too-familiar friction plays out across Indian households. Consider a 62-year-old retired teacher who, exasperated by delayed claim settlements and another steep premium hike, decides to move her coverage to a rival insurer.

She expects her decade of policy continuity and waiting-period credits to transition seamlessly. Instead, after weeks of paperwork and medical evaluations, her application is turned down without a clear explanation. Left with no realistic alternative at her age, she quietly renews with her existing insurer.

Her predicament captures a structural blind spot in retail health insurance: portability is merely a right to apply, not a guaranteed transfer.

According to Sure...