Help picking Annual Travel Insurance

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MB05

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Does anybody know which policy is the better buy - VHI Annual Multitrip Cover or Premier Annual Worldwide cover with Multitrip.com?

I am a VHI member so I can get their annual travel insurance for €39.20. Multitrip's cover works out at €37.94 so price wise there isn't much in it.

I've tried to compare the terms of the policies but to be honest it's confusing and I lose interest after a few minutes each time.

I am going to the US shortly so I want to make sure I am adequately covered across the board but especially for hospital cover.

I'm hoping one of you managed to complete a similar comparison or you work in the industry and know which is better.
 
Hi,

I've moved your thread to the Insurance Forum as a copy will remain in both forums/fora for a month and hopefully this will provide as many replies as possible.

I agree its as boring as can be to have to read through the policies for the different companies but it is an extremely important part of the purchase to read the small print. The devil is in the small print.

Another important aspect is to look at the reviews for dealing with the Assistance companies that the different companies use. Its a long time ago that our family had two different hospitalisations on two separate holidays but we could not fault the VHI handlers at that time. It only took one phone call each time and they took over completely.

Reviews of their payment of expenses is worth checking out also.
 
A friend of ours had what the hospital termed a 'major cardiac incident' (a heart attack essentially) while on holidays in the USA 2 years ago. The VHI came up absolutely trumps on every aspect of the situation. He was in hospital for 2 weeks and then had a medically escorted journey home. He cannot speak highly enough of them.
 
I have a multitrip.com policy, and am insured with Quinn Health (if that name still exists!). Had an accident in Florida last year which resulted in Casualty activity in nearest hospital (broken fingers) - Quinn Health didn't cover it because it was outpatient procedure, but multitrip.com came up trumps and paid out (less the standard excess on the policy).
 
Thanks for adding it to the insurance forum Sue Ellen. I wasn't sure if I'd be better off posting there but I followed the guidelines and put it in the travel forum.

And thank you Eithneangela and emeralds for your input too. It seems as though there really is very little between them.

I have tried to get into the small print but they don't make it easy to compare. They don't follow the same naming conventions in some instances so it is hard to know if you are comparing like with like.

My own uncle had to be hospitalised in Portugal last year and VHI took care of everything. Once my aunt rang them they took over. They told her everything was covered, just keep receipts for her day to day expenses like taxi fares to the hospital and additional nights in the complex they were staying in. The main things like the medical care and the rebooking of their flights were paid directly by the VHI. They even organised assistance for my uncle on the journey home as he needed oxygen and a wheelchair.

She said they were really helpful in a very stressful situation. I was leaning towards the VHI for this very reason and because both my health and travel insurance would be with them so I figure it would be easier if there was a claim. My sister has gone with them but I know the others we are travelling with are going with Multitrip as they don't have medical insurance and they seem to be the best value for money in that situation.

A lot of the entitlements are similar, VHI winning out on a lot of the minor one's. The major difference I can see is Multitrip's Emergency Medical & other expenses is €10m, VHI's is only €5m. According to an article I read online Multitrip cover Third Party Supplier Insolvency and Scheduled Airline Failure up to €1k but VHI doesn't provide cover for these.

Is €5m cover enough for the US? I know it sounds like loads but getting ill in the US is expensive! It's just so hard to know what to do.
 
If you have any type of pre existing condition, VHI plan will probably be a better choice.

Also you should look at who actually be liable for a payout in the event of a claim for an accident and emergency abroad, would it be (1)VHI or VHI multitrip or (2) VHI or Multitrip.com ? - if you take a discount for having private health insurance plan in place.

Went to read the small print but VHI's website is down until Easter Sunday.
 
Thanks pj111. I went for VHI in the end as I know they were very good when my uncle became ill in Portugal last year.

When my aunt rang them to find out what she should do they just took over. They told her what she was covered for, what they would do directly and what she needed to pay for and claim back when she got home. It was seamless, no question of which insurance policy she was claiming off. She was very happy with the help she received.

It is a definite advantage to only have to deal with one company in that situation.

I think I remember reading that your health insurer covers the initial x amount up to the policy limit and then the travel insurer takes over. I looked at a number of websites though so I couldn't tell you where I read it.
 
Quinn Healthcare and Aviva Health customers can also purchase VHI multitrip now.
 
"If you want to be covered for cancellations, your policy should be in effect at the time of any trips you book."

I have already booked my flights and am now thinking of getting VHI multitrip - will i be covered if i had to cancel my flights? The above suggests no, yet the terms and conditions seem to indicate once you have a policy before taking your trip your covered.
 
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