VHI warning on travel insurance

VHI Healthcare is distancing itself from a range of "copycat" travel insurance products that are offering discounts to VHI members, which undercut VHI's own travel policy.

VHI says it has received hundreds of phone calls from members who are under the impression that emergency overseas medical cover provided under these travel insurance policies is guaranteed by VHI.

It is now advising that it is "in no way associated" with these products, which it claims do not offer a comparable level of cover.

Mr Tim McKeown, head of business development at VHI, said members could find they were not insured once the cover provided under VHI's main hospital plans runs out.

VHI's plans provide emergency overseas medical cover up to €65,000. However, this is not enough to cover all eventualities.

In February, VHI launched a multi-trip annual travel policy covering members' emergency medical expenses up to €5 million. The policy was cheaper than any other available because it did not duplicate the cover provided under the hospital plans.

But some travel insurance providers are now offering even cheaper cover to VHI and BUPA members, saying they will step in and pay for medical expenses once the cover under the hospital plans has run out.

One of these providers, a new company called Blue Insurances, distributes its multi-trip policy through 250 travel agents and operators. Customers are asked for their VHI or BUPA membership numbers in order to receive the preferential rates. He said the new policies often contained different terms and exclusions, which might leave members exposed to overseas health bills.

VHI said it was unclear how the underwriters of the products planned to co-ordinate the handover of medical cases.

Mr Ciarán Mulligan, director of Blue Insurances, said the company had simply responded to the VHI move.

He said cover for in-patient expenses under its policy would take effect automatically once the VHI or BUPA limits had been exceeded.

He said VHI or BUPA members who had pre-existing medical conditions would continue to be covered by the Blue policy once their health cover expired unless they had been diagnosed with a terminal illness or were on a hospital waiting list.