HEALTH insurer VHI has called on the Government and other bodies to give "the fullest consideration" to the threat to community rating it alleges is posed by polices offered by rival insurer BUPA.

VHI alleges that BUPA is trying "to drive a coach and four" through community rating - where all consumers are offered the same product for the same price regardless of age. The "destruction" of community rating will result in a huge fall off in the number of people able to afford private health insurance and will increase pressure on the public health system, according to the VHI, in a statement published after a board meeting.