If just as soon as you've finished off any remaining drops of duty-free alcohol and chunks of dodgy souvenir chocolate you're already stocking up on boiled sweets for your next flight, it will make financial sense to buy an annual travel insurance policy rather than forking out for single-trip cover each time, writes Laura Slattery

Almost 600,000 people are expected to buy multi-trip travel insurance policies in 2004 - three times the number of people who bought them in 2001, according to MRBI Omnibus Research.

The trebling of the market suggests that growing hordes of Irish people are either travelling more frequently or getting increasingly nervous about doing so.

For people who worry that every trip overseas could be the catalyst for a "holiday from hell" story, the only question left to answer is which multi-trip policy offers the best cover at the lowest price.

Members of certain trade unions should be able to purchase the most competitive multi-trip rates around by going through brokers offering affinity deals to members. These can cost as little as €54 for a family.

Otherwise, it is the newest entry to the market, State-owned health insurer VHI, which comes out the cheapest out of the range of banks, building societies, insurers, airlines and online travel insurance providers shown opposite.

VHI says as many as 300,000 of the 600,000 multi-trip policies expected to be sold this year will be VHI members.

Its 1.55 million members already receive cover for emergency medical expenses overseas. However, this is limited to €65,000 under its most popular policy, Plan B, with up to €2 million cover provided for the cost of getting a person back home.

While this will cover almost all eventualities in EU countries, it's just "hello money" in the US, says Mr Tim McKeown, VHI head of business development.

Hospital care in the US can cost as much as €11,000 a day, meaning the nominal overseas cover under VHI and BUPA's core health insurance plans could be used up very quickly.

This would leave people without travel insurance exposed to massive healthcare bills in the event of a medical emergency on holiday.

As a result, many of VHI's members buy separate travel policies, effectively duplicating part of their emergency medical cover. "Why pay twice?" the insurer is asking.

As members have already paid for some overseas medical cover through their main plan premium, VHI is able to price its travel policy more competitively than the rest.

At €49, its multi-trip rate for an adult up to the age of 65 is €22 cheaper than the next lowest rate, €71 from ACE Insurance at www.acetravelinsurance.ie.

Adding on winter sports cover to VHI's policy costs €26 for an individual, €37 for a couple and €65 for a family.

The policy covers up to €5 million in emergency medical expenses plus an additional €2 million for repatriation costs, so its level of emergency cover is higher than policies from ACE, AIB, Eagle Star, EBS, AA, Hibernian, Ryanair and Bank of Ireland.

Getcover.com offers two types of multi-trip cover. The "Silver" policy is its budget insurance for adults up to the age of 47, however it works out as more expensive than its "Gold" policy because it automatically includes winter sports cover.

Aer Lingus and Ebookers.ie charge the highest amount for one adult at €135.

However, the added cost is partly explained by the fact that winter sports cover is included and emergency medical expenses are covered up to €13 million and €12.7 million respectively.

Unlike some other policies, which only pay out for emergencies, the VHI policy covers up to €500 worth of outpatient expenses. Uniquely, VHI will cover people with pre-existing medical conditions for the same price as perfectly healthy customers, as long as they have already served out the waiting periods on its hospital plans by the time they make a claim.

In normal circumstances, people who are receiving medication have received treatment for heart, circulatory, lung/ breathing, cancerous or psychological conditions, or who are on a hospital waiting list, must give their travel insurance provider the details. They may then be refused medical cover, told they must pay a loaded premium or forced to accept a much higher "excess" on the policy.

The excess is the first part of any claim that a policyholder must pay themselves before the insurer will compensate them for the rest.

So, although EBS's travel policies are among the most expensive, its policy excess is just €35, compared with €50 at VHI, €75 at ACE and €85-€125 for most benefits at Getcover.com.

People who own other insurance products from EBS, Eagle Star and Hibernian can obtain 10-20 per cent discounts on their travel policy.

The AA prices shown in the table are the rates offered to AA members, its motor or home insurance customers, and Vodafone customers.

Frequent travellers looking for family policies should note that Ryanair, although quite competitive for a single adult, has no child rate, making it the most expensive for a family of two adults and two children.

With VHI, children are covered, even if they travel independently of the policyholder, such as on school trips or with members of their extended family.

Multi-trip policies are not always the best value. For an individual taking just one two-week break in Europe, it is possible to secure cover for as low as €15.

Overall, about 40 per cent of Irish people are likely to buy travel insurance in the next 12 months, according to MRBI Omnibus Research.

However, that doesn't mean that the other 60 per cent is staying at home: hundreds of thousands of people travel uninsured every year.

Gold credit card holders who use their cards to pay for holidays may be automatically given a form of limited travel insurance called travel accident insurance.

This covers medical expenses for accidents - although not the onset of serious health conditions - up to a certain value, for example €190,461 on AIB's gold card and €317,435 on MBNA's gold card.

Others may decide that their standard VHI or BUPA plan will cover most overseas medical emergencies while, if their luggage goes AWOL, it won't cost too much to replace a few sarongs and some beach towels.

A few seasoned travellers may also conclude that the financial compensation on offer for minor disasters like cancellation, travel delays and lost money is so tightly worded, they would have a better chance of getting an even tan than getting the insurance company to pay out.