Travel Trouble Ahead!
- Travel insurance policy holders prioritising cost over cover.
- 48% of those travelling, are doing so without travel insurance
- Claims paid for emergency treatment abroad reach €11 million

May 26th, 2008 – Startling research conducted by TNS MRBI on behalf of MultiTrip from Vhi Healthcare has revealed that those travelling abroad are taking a real gamble by choosing their travel insurance based on cost rather than on the level of cover it provides. Of the 1,000 adults surveyed nationwide, a worrying 26% stated that they bought their travel insurance based on the price of the policy, 17% chose their insurer due to convenience, and only 8% chose their policy based on the breadth of cover provided by the policy.

91% of those surveyed said that they felt cover for unexpected medical emergencies or illness was very important to have on their policies, ranking it the highest of all policy elements.

A huge concern highlighted in the research is that 48% of those who had travelled in the past year did so without any travel insurance whatsoever. This is despite repeated warnings by the Department of Foreign Affairs of the importance of taking out insurance before travelling abroad.

Declan Moran, Director of Marketing and Business Development, Vhi Healthcare, commented, “It is extremely worrying to see that those who do take out travel insurance are choosing their policy based on price rather than the breadth of cover provided. People need to read the terms and conditions of every policy extremely carefully. There are significant differences in cover provided and therefore for the sake of a couple of euro, consumers could be incurring very large expenses. The worst time to examine your travel insurance policy is when an emergency occurs.”

He continued “It is very worrying to see that many travelers are not taking out travel insurance when they are going abroad. They really need to be aware of the risks, particularly when you consider the relatively low cost of a multi-trip travel insurance policy. We have experienced cases whereby members with our Vhi Healthcare MultiTrip policy holder have been covered for medical bills totaling almost €1 million under their policy which had cost them just €49 for the year."

Approximately 3,000 people required emergency treatment while abroad and claims paid amounted to €11 million in 2007, that’s up from €8.4 million in 2006 an increase of 31%. The total cost of transporting people home was over €2 million.

Multi Trip travel insurance not only offers financial protection from the cost of unexpected medical eventualities which occur abroad, but also for other mishaps which can happen such as loss of baggage, flight cancellations or curtailments, and travel delays.

During 2007, Multi Trip from Vhi Healthcare paid out more than €3.9 million in claims for members to cover expenses of a non medical nature. This included €1.78 million in 2,600 cases where flights were cancelled or trips curtailed. A further €458,000 was allowed to more than 1800 members who lost baggage during transit. Lost money claims accounted for €53,000 of the total payout, and some 237 claims were settled for travel delays costing a total of €28,000.

Mr Moran also highlighted the need for people to be aware of the differences in policies “Multi Trip from Vhi Healthcare has quickly been established as market leader of the multi trip travel insurance sector with approximately 36% market share in this area and over 350,000 members. We are one of the few travel insurers who cover our members if they have an emergency or need to cancel or curtail their trip due to a pre-existing condition that they or indeed a member of their family may have. Our own experience has shown that many of our own members had to cancel a trip due this very reason at a substantial cost. Although our research showed that 7 in 10 of those questioned were aware of this area, only half prioritised this when selecting an insurer.”

MultiTrip from Vhi Healthcare has identified the following top tips for those thinking of travelling abroad

1. Do take out a travel insurance policy - the benefits far outweigh the costs.
2. Do study the terms and conditions carefully before you purchase – policies can vary substantially.
3. Do renew your policy when it expires and don't wait until the last minute to make sure you are covered in the event of a cancellation.
4. When you are packing for a trip make sure you bring your travel insurer’s contact details with you and familiarise yourself with what to do in an emergency.

Some other key findings from the MultiTrip from Vhi Healthcare research were:
- 68% of those surveyed travelled for leisure purposes in the last year with almost 60% travelling to a European destination, nearly 25% travelling to the UK and 10% travelling to North America.
- Average number of trips per year was 2.33 per annum , a slight increase on last year (2.17)
- Duration of stay was less than 7 days for almost 60% of those surveyed and between 8 and 14 days for almost 30%. Overall, 2% of the adult population (or 70,000 persons) travelled abroad for 6 months or longer in the past year.
- Over 60% travelled for a sun holiday, 41% took a city break and almost one-fifth travelled for a special interest break (this covered charity activities, pilgrimages or hobby-related trips).
- 12% of the population travelled abroad for business purposes last years and the average number of business trips taken in the year was 4. Of those travelling for business, the UK was the most common destination (42%), followed by another EU country (27%) and North America (19%).
- Length of stay for business travellers was less than 7 days for over 70% of those questioned with 8% stayed for between 61 and 180 days. 6% of those questioned travelled abroad for longer than 180 days.
- Of those questioned who didn’t have travel insurance 12% had had a travel delay, 2% had lost luggage experiences and 2% had missed a flight in the past year.

Launched in February 2004, .further information on MultiTrip from Vhi Healthcare is available on www.vhi.ie.

ENDS