TWO out of three Irish people take a foreign holiday every year, but many of them leave home without any travel insurance, according to health insurer VHI.

The company branched into travel cover two years ago and has paid out almost 4m in claims to people whose travel plans went wrong. That included 93,000 paid to a person who needed emergency medical treatment while visiting the US, a personal accident claim for 16,000, and a payout of 5,500 to a family forced to abandon its plans at the last minute.

In line with industry experience, forced cancellations lead to most of the VHI claims, accounting for 60% of the total. That is followed by claims for medical expenses, lost baggage, delayed baggage, and lost money.

"We would urge the 46% of the population that travel abroad for leisure purposes without any travel insurance to consider the risks involved, " said Declan Moran, director of marketing and business development at VHI.

"When choosing a travel insurance policy, make sure that you are fully covered for unexpected medical emergencies and illnesses arising from pre-existing conditions. Many products on the market do not cover for such eventualities."

SAVE

WITH the first SSIAs maturing last week, Ulster Bank left it until the last minute to unveil what it has on offer for customers who decide to keep saving.

But those who prefer to stick with the security of cash will find better value elsewhere. Ulster Bank's top deposit rate is 3.5% fixed for three months, but savers can already get a similar deal from National Irish Bank and online banks RaboDirect and Northern Rock. And their rates are variable, so that savers should get the full benefit of the interest rate hike expected later this week.

For customers who want a better return but are afraid of risking their SSIA money, Ulster Bank is offering tracker bonds that follow the performance of global stock markets. They promise to at least return your original investment at maturity, which can be anywhere from three and a half to five years, depending on the tracker you choose.

The catch is that you will only get part of the underlying growth. For example, the most you can earn from the Secure Performance Bond is 30% over three and a half years, or 55% over five years.

ONE TO WATCH

CONSIDERABLE room for improvement has been identified in the way critical illness insurance is sold, with people having only a hazy idea of what they are getting into.

The cover, usually sold as an add-on to people taking out mortgages, pays a taxfree lump sum if the policyholder is diagnosed with an illness covered by the policy, such as heart attack, cancer or stroke.

A detailed probe by financial watchdogs in the UK, including "mystery shopping" checks, found that most firms had reasonable controls in place to prevent mis-selling, but there are also serious weaknesses.

For example, not enough is being done to make people aware of the consequences of withholding full details of their medical history, resulting in one in four policy claims being thrown out. Financial salesman were also found wanting in explaining how the insurance works and the illnesses covered.

Sales literature also fell short of the mark, failing to spell out clearly the key limitations and exclusions.