Is overseas travel insurance policy issued by Insurance Companies of Ukraine and Belarus is Valid?

Is overseas travel insurance policy issued by health Insurance Companies of Ukraine and Belarus is Valid? Hindustan Times of Dec 25, 2008 has raised a very interesting question whether overseas travel health insurance policy issued by Insurance companies of Ukraine & Belarus is valid. IRDA has initiated information gathering exercise and we can expect some action in the coming weeks. We foresee this can be in the form of posing questions to the company which has been selling the products. We do not foresee any action against the Insurance co’s as these are not based in India. Points in favor of foreign insurance co are;

1.If Indians are permitted to buy air tickets worth any amount from Foreign airlines then why they should not have the freedom to buy Overseas Travel Insurance from a foreign company.
2.Many foreign insurance co’s (including a BUPA subsidiary )have been advertising in Indians press and selling Health Insurance for Indians living in India .According to information available to us no action was taken by IRDA against them.
3. Let the Indian Insurance co’s face the competition and come out with suitable products, pricing and service level. Point against foreign insurance co is;
Indian customers do not know about the financial strength of this co and it is the duty of IRDA to protect the interests of Indian Citizens. We will be pleased to have the comments from you.