Health and Safety Resources

Safety Statement

It is important during these uncertain times that you carefully monitor global events before traveling. The U.S. Department of State provides public announcements for U.S. citizens who travel internationally. These can be found at: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_1764.html. If you are traveling internationally, please consult these advisories and warnings and contact us at the WVU Office of International Programs (WVU-OIP) if you seek advice or want to discuss travel precautions.

• Consular Information Sheets
• Current Travel Warnings
• CMI Health Insurance
• Embassy World
• Tips for Traveling Abroad
• World Time Zones
• Current Exchange Rates

Also for Students:

• Maintain regular contact with the guest, liaison, or program director at your sister institution or program for updates and advice. Ask them for a counselor if you feel you need one.
  
• Maintain regular contact with your parents.
  
• Maintain regular contact with the Office of International Programs at the following email addresses. <oip@mail.wvu.edu>

• Stay aware of US State Department official recommendations. The web site is http://travel.state.gov
  
• Consult the document, Studying Abroad, put out by the US State Department, at http://travel.state.gov/travel/living/studying/studying_1238.html
  
• In the case of a dire emergency, visit http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/emergencies/emergencies_1205.html
  

We are concerned about the safety of all WVU students, faculty, and staff. We are doing our best to keep abreast of current information and will change our recommendations if that is necessary.

The U.S. State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs disseminates information regarding international travel in three main formats. Consular information sheets for each country provide information including the location of the U.S. Embassy or Consulate, immigration practices, health conditions, minor political disturbances, unusual currency and entry regulations, crime and security information, and drug penalties. Public Announcements are issued to provide information about events or conditions that may cause a threat to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued to recommend that Americans avoid travel to a certain country.

You can also check out the U.S. Department of States tips for Study Abroad

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides information for Americans on how to protect themselves from disease when traveling outside the U.S. Information includes diseases for which travelers are at risk and recommends vaccinations and inoculations depending on the area of the host country visited and participation in activities. Read the information provided from your host country our region at <http://www.cdc.gov/travel/destinat.htm>.

The information provided by the U.S. State Department is written from a culturally specific perspective — an American political perspective. Due to the relationship between the United States and some countries, advisories may be very general. It is recommended that students also read travel information provided by the Australian, Canadian, and United Kingdom governments for a clear picture of happenings in your host country.

o Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade — Travel Consular Services
o Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade — Travel Reports
o United Kingdom’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office London — Travel Advice

Study Abroad Travelers Insurance

West Virginia University requires all students studying abroad (i.e. receiving academic credit) to have appropriate medical (health and hospitalization), emergency, evacuation, and repatriation coverage for their time overseas. The minimum insurance coverage and amounts that you are required to have to study abroad are the following:

• Medical: Full coverage
  
• Emergency: Full coverage
  
• Accidental Death/Dismemberment: up to $15,000
  
• Repatriation: up to $25,000
  
• Evacuation: up to $100,000.

Even if you are covered as a dependent of your parents’ medical insurance policy, be aware that some plans deny coverage for treatment outside of your home country. Also, your current policy may not provide sufficient coverage for an overseas experience. In order to provide adequate coverage, a policy should include medical, evacuation and repatriation insurance, as well as travel assistance. Be aware that it can be very expensive if you become injured or ill during your study abroad experience. You may need to be evacuated to a location with more advanced medical facilities and/or an English speaking doctor, or even evacuated back to the United States. Travel assistance is also a very important element to proper coverage for it provides assistance WHILE you are trouble. Make sure you have a policy that includes medical, evacuation, repatriation and travel assistance coverage. In some cases, you may find your current policy provides adequate medical insurance, but may need to purchase additional coverage for the other areas. You will need to review your policy before your departure.

Questions to consider:

• Does the policy cover you in all countries to be visited?
  
• Are there pre-admission requirements which may not be practical outside the U.S.?
  
• Does it include coverage for medical evacuation and repatriation?
  
• Are reimbursement procedures appropriate outside of the U.S.?
  
• Will you be required to pay cash in the currency of the host country and seek reimbursement later?
  
• Does the insurance company require claims to be submitted in U.S. dollars?
  
• What kind of financial and medical documentation will be required, and is such documentation readily available in the host country?
  
• Does the policy cover psychological counseling?
  
• Does the policy offer travel assistance including benefits such as physician referrals abroad, family notification, and family flight and hotel stays if you are hospitalized abroad?

If you are not covered as a dependent on an insurance policy that provides coverage for overseas travel, you will need additional health insurance. WVU has had a long standing relationship with CMI and recommend their services

CMI Insurance Specialists
Ted Persons Global Insurance Benefits
1447 York Rd. Suite 400 Lutherville, MD 21093
(410) 583-2585
website

The following is a list of other insurance companies that provide short term health and emergency assistance policies designed for study abroad participants, which you may wish to explore. In addition to health insurance, many policies include trip cancellation, baggage loss, and travel accident insurance in the same package.