Couple of points.
The insurance policy was not designed for Va pilots, as they have automatic coverage by the company and at this point do not have the option to opt out. So anyone from VA looking at the VIPA policy needs to look at it in that light.
Secondly, the VIPA policy has an initial offer of having no application form, which means
any and all prior or existing medical conditions will not affect your ability to claim.. This is a massive point of difference. Unless you provided full disclosure to the underwriter for the company policy, you will not get paid. If you have existing medical conditions, you may not get paid.
Thirdly, in almost all cases, except for youngish F/O's (from memory) the benefits are significantly better than either of the competing products on offer, and they are underwritten by Lloyds of London.
Fourth, in most cases, pilots are far more likely to have a LoL claim as they get older, therefore the policy is skewed slightly to provide greater benefit to older pilots, possibly at some expense to the younger guys. But given a choice, i'm sure that's how most people would want it.
We can only hope that post "integration" (whatever that means) VA pilots will enjoy the same ability to choose their insurer as the
VB pilots currently do.