Oh, no! Imagine you got a bit too excited trying to explore all of Paris on foot during your semester abroad and now you have this pain in your ankle that you’d like to get checked out. What do you do?

Getting sick or injured abroad can be a real headache, especially if you don’t have the proper health insurance. To avoid turning a dream semester into a financial and administrative headache, we’ll cover how to stay properly insured when you study abroad during an official program of The University of Texas at Austin.

Overseas Health Insurance

Here at UT Austin, all students traveling abroad are required to enroll in the UT Overseas Insurance plan. It’s a small price to pay for peace of mind. For $19 a week, you’ll have coverage for medical and security evacuations, accident/sickness medical bills and even some COVID-19 expenses. That way, if you do get sick or injured while you’re abroad, you won’t be stuck with a mountain of burdens.

Even if they’re dually covered by another insurance policy, all UT Austin students are required to enroll in the Overseas Insurance plan. The only exception is students studying abroad in their country of citizenship, who are required to submit a formal request for exemption.

What UT Overseas Insurance Covers

UT Overseas Insurance is designed to act as a safety net for students traveling abroad. It covers a wide range of medical emergencies, including medical expenses for:

Injuries, illness
Recurring/worsening of preexisting conditions
Mental health
24/7 mental health tele-counseling access
Medical evacuation

It also covers :

travel companion expenses during hospitalizations, evacuations, etc.
COVID-19 testing
Trip interruption due to COVID-19
Unforeseen quarantine expenses (up to 14 days)
Lost/stolen belongings ($1,000 total, $100 per item)
Travel/luggage delay expenses

What UT Overseas Insurance Does Not Cover

It’s also important to understand what UT Overseas Insurance does not cover, including:

Routine medical care
COVID-19 testing for entry requirements
Ongoing care for preexisting conditions
High-risk activities
Voluntary quarantine for COVID-19
Self-isolation due to positive COVID-19 test
Travel insurance

On Call International

UT Austin also partners with On Call International, a global emergency assistance program designed to help students abroad navigate crisis situations so that they can continue their trip and get home safely should a situation arise.

Before you embark on your journey abroad, you will need to log in to the On Call Plan Information portal to learn about the program’s available services and benefits, access pre-trip resources and get country-specific safety and health information. In addition, you’ll want to save the On Call contact information on your phone and computer for easy access in case of a health-related issue.

Once registered, you can always reach On Call International through their 24/7 Global Response Center from anywhere on the planet to request an assistance coordinator to help you with any health-related crisis, no matter how big or small.

We advise students to contact On Call International when they are preparing to go abroad, so they can ask about the availability of pharmaceuticals or other emergency resources in their host country.

Filing An Insurance Claim Abroad

To file an insurance claim abroad, you should keep all receipts and prescriptions from any medical treatment you receive abroad. Luckily, there is no co-pay or deductible, so you are eligible for full reimbursement for covered medical expenses abroad, up to the prescribed limits.

Once you receive medical treatment abroad, you must file medical claims within 90 days of receiving treatment. You may visit the On Call International website to download the claim form. Once you’ve filled out the form, attach all relevant documents (i.e., itemized bills, prescriptions, receipts) and email the form and its attachments to the address specified by On Call International.

External Travel Insurance

It is worth noting that UT Austin’s Overseas Insurance may not cover everything. Consider purchasing additional travel insurance to cover trip cancellation or interruption due to COVID-19 or other unforeseen circumstances. When considering travel insurance plans, make sure to check out the fine print so you know exactly what you are signing up for.

Peace of Mind

Once you have set up your UT Overseas Insurance and On Call International accounts, you can go abroad with much greater peace of mind. For more information concerning health insurance abroad, please refer to the Overseas Insurance and On Call International Program Resources pages on our website.

Alek Blonk is an Education Abroad Peer Mentor providing support to students interested in studying abroad. Learn about this position and its services on the Peer Mentors Program webpage.