Procedures
Note:
Starting July 1, the processing of travelers' mandatory global medical and security assistance insurance will be handled by the Office of Risk Management. The information provided on these websites pertains to travel with a departure date on or after 7/1/2026.
Global Medical & Security Insurance Program Procedures
Purpose & Scope
These procedures provide detailed guidance on the processes surrounding the Global Travel Emergency Medical and Assistance Services Insurance (“Global Medical & Security Insurance”), including enrollment and billing. These procedures apply to those engaging in university-supported travel as defined by Policy 1070.
Roles & Responsibilities
Travelers on university-supported travel are required by Policy 1070 to register global travel with the Global Education Office and to be enrolled in the university’s Global Medical & Security Insurance.
- Employees should submit trip pre-approvals in Emburse to meet policy requirements.
- Students should work with the Global Education Office to determine what action is needed to meet these requirements, generally registering via their My Study Abroad portal.
- For guests (non-employees) and students whose travel is wholly or partially sponsored by the university, the funding department’s fiscal technician should submit trip pre-approvals in Emburse to meet both requirements.
- The Office of Risk Management manages the university’s Global Medical & Security Insurance program and is responsible for enrolling and billing travelers, departments, and programs based on their travel information.
- The Global Education Office manages the university’s Global Travel Registry, provides risk-based travel guidance, and facilitates the university’s response to emergencies.
Insurance Eligibility & Requirements
While eligibility outlines who MAY purchase the global medical & security insurance, requirements outline who MUST do so. While this section provides excerpts of Policy 1070, please refer to the policy in its entirety and direct questions to GEO's Global Safety Office.
University-Supported Travel
Travel must be considered university-supported for the traveler to be eligible for the Global Medical & Security Insurance offered by Virginia Tech. Whether travel by an individual affiliated with Virginia Tech meets the definition in Policy 1070 of university-supported travel can be nuanced and directly impacts travel resources provided by the university, including the Global Medical & Security Insurance program. Below is the definition as outlined in Policy 1070.
“University-supported: international activities supported by the university. Such activities must adhere to the Global Travel Policy and include, but are not limited to:
- travel with an approved program through GEO,
- travel created, managed, organized, sponsored, and/or supported through a Virginia Tech college or department (academic or other), including programs that involve an application process and participant selection,
- travel that expends university funds, to include grants, Foundation funds, scholarships, informal financial awards and/or financial aid,
- travel to the university from abroad under the aegis of a Virginia Tech college or department (academic or other), including programs that involve an application process and participant selection,
- travel as a representative of Virginia Tech in any capacity (credit or non-credit),
- travel that is necessary to achieve a degree requirement,
- travel as a component of experiential learning as a degree requirement,
- travel that fulfills Virginia Tech contractual agreements,
- travel for academic credit (direct or to be transferred), to include Study Abroad at Home,
- travel for research, practica, internships/externships, field work, or conferences that contribute to an individual’s Virginia Tech degree or his/her professional activities,
- travel for service learning organized by Virginia Tech,
- travel under the aegis of Virginia Tech for performances, humanitarian efforts, competitions (athletic, arts, etc.), teaching and instruction,
- travel to a Virginia Tech center abroad,
- travel by University Chartered Student Organizations (UCSO) and University Student Life Programs (USLP),
- travel for research leave abroad. Faculty (and dependents) on research leave abroad not related to Virginia Tech (NOT using Virginia Tech funds, NOT representing Virginia Tech, etc.) have the option to enroll in the international emergency medical and assistance services insurance.
- dependents or guests accompanying employees or students on university-supported travel have the option to enroll in the international emergency medical and assistance services insurance.
The following activities are NOT university-supported:
- RSO travel,
- personal travel, to include non-program-related participant travel before or after program dates and personal travel undertaken by persons on visas sponsored by Virginia Tech,
- group travel that has not been approved by the home college/department, and by GEAC or GNAC,
- high risk travel not approved for an exception to university policy by GTOC,
- travel funded by an outside entity, during which the traveler will not be representing Virginia Tech in any capacity,
- following the issuance of an evacuation order by the university, travel by a university employee or student to (or continued presence in) the pertinent geographic area, against the university’s instructions."
Continued travel by an individual on previously university-supported travel AFTER an evacuation order may limit insurance coverage and other resources, including evacuation assistance.
Insurance Coverage Eligibility
Individuals on university-supported travel are eligible for the university’s Global Medical & Security Insurance. Dependents and guests accompanying these individuals are also eligible. Pursuant to Policy 1070, the following individuals are NOT ELIGIBLE to purchase the university’s Global Medical and Security Insurance:
- “University employees, students, or guests on personal travel.
- Registered Student Organizations (RSOs)
Participants and leaders of alumni trips should refer to guidelines established by the Alumni Relations office.”
Alternative Insurance for Individuals Not Eligible
There are many alternative options for those seeking individual coverage for travel that is not university-supported. The Office of Risk Management encourages travelers to search for “international travel accident insurance,” or review aggregate sites like this Forbes article. While the university cannot endorse a particular coverage, some options include:
CISI, which offers individual coverage. If engaging in personal travel adjacent to university-supported travel, individuals can self-pay for personal coverage at the start or end of their trip if they wish by reaching out to CISI or logging into their participant portal.
Allianz, which partners with several travel companies to offer built-in trip protection, also offers individual travel accident coverage.
Personal credit cards can sometimes offer versions of accident or trip insurance.
When reviewing coverage, the Office of Risk Management encourages individuals to consider both what is most likely to happen, and the most extreme worst-case scenario. Everyone has different risk tolerances, and those should be considered when determining what assistance services may be necessary when traveling.
Insurance Requirement
Policy 1070 outlines that “the following individuals are REQUIRED to be registered with GEO and purchase the university’s designated global emergency medical and assistance services insurance, regardless of any alternative coverage they may have:
- All university employees on university-supported travel.
- All guests on university-supported travel.
- All members of university-supported group travel.
- All members of a non-university group if one or more participants are supported by university funding.
- Any dependents traveling with a university-supported group.
- Note: “Dependents accompanying individual university-supported travelers (i.e., not on university-supported travel)” are encouraged but not required to purchase the university’s designated Global Medical & Security Insurance.
- "Students traveling on any other type of university-supported travel (for credit or not for credit) are also required to purchase the designated international emergency medical and security assistance insurance from the university-approved vendor. Alternatively, such students may obtain a waiver from the Office of Risk Management to decline the contracted insurance by demonstrating that they are covered by an insurance policy comparable to the university’s international emergency medical and assistance services policy.”
Waiver Administration
Please refer to the Global Medical & Security Insurance Waiver Procedures.
Insurance Enrollment
Enrollment in the university’s Global Medical & Security Insurance is based on data contained in the Global Travel Registry, which is managed by GEO’s Global Safety Office. Information on what information is used to populate the GTR, as well as how that feeds automatic enrollment in the university’s insurance, is outlined in GEO’s Global Safety Office Procedures. This flow of information facilitates individuals’ compliance with several requirements listed in Policy 1070 while requiring minimal action on the part of travelers.
Automatic Insurance Enrollment
Each trip must be registered in the GTR to be enrolled in the university’s Global Medical & Security Insurance. All travelers in the GTR will be automatically enrolled in the university’s Global Medical & Security Insurance unless they have an approved waiver on file for that specific trip. Employees should have a fully approved trip pre-approval on file in Emburse and have supplied the necessary supplemental information to the GTR.
Current rates for the Global Medical & Security Insurance policies can be found on the Insurance Abroad website.
Enrollment Dates
Travelers are enrolled in the insurance for the date range in the GTR based on the daily rates of the Global Medical & Security Insurance policy in force on the first day of travel for up to one year of travel. There is no separate or specific action required by the traveler to enroll in the insurance. The priority of both the Office of Risk Management and the Global Education Office is the safety and wellbeing of our travelers.
For department-funded travel, the GTR will assume that the full date range provided in Emburse is university-supported business travel unless supplemental information is provided to the Global Travel Registry. Weekends that are within the overall university-supported travel should be included. For example, if an employee is traveling for 14 days (about two weeks) on business travel, there are likely weekends during which the employee may not be working, but for which they should be enrolled in the medical and security insurance.
If there are concerns about whether charges are allowable or allocable to a specific funding source, departments are encouraged to consider changing the funding source for the trip or to move the expense after travel is concluded.
During Travel and Post-Travel Trip Pre-Approval Submission
Employees should make all efforts to submit trip pre-approvals 14 days (about 2 weeks) prior to travel to be fully enrolled in the insurance and to receive guidance from GEO’s Global Safety Office regarding their trip. Travel that is classified as high-risk should consider submitting their trip pre-approvals as soon as possible to ensure adequate time for the Global Travel Oversight Committee to review.
A Emburse trip pre-approval is required for all international travel by Travel Procedures 20335a and will be needed to request reimbursement for travel expenses. Submission of a late trip pre-approval is non-compliant with Policy 1070’s requirement to be registered in the Global Travel Registry and the university’s mandatory Global Medical & Security Insurance. Consequences for non-compliance with Policy 1070 may include loss of university support for current or future international travel. Travelers who submit a Emburse trip pre-approval during or after their trip will still be charged for the university’s Global Medical and Security Insurance and may not receive all standard pre-charge communications.
Study Abroad and Business/Other Policies
Virginia Tech maintains two Global Medical & Security Insurance policies: study abroad and business/all other travel. The distinction between policies only dictates cost—coverages, benefits, and ways to access coverage are otherwise the same. Travelers will be automatically enrolled in the applicable Global Medical & Security Insurance policy based on information within the GTR.
- Study Abroad
- Students on VT faculty-led study abroad programs
- Students on third-party study abroad programs
- Faculty leading VT study abroad programs
- Volunteers/other leaders of VT study abroad programs
- Students on internships/externships and global research
- VT employee travel in support of study abroad (GEO employees, study abroad site visits, etc.)
- Business Travel/Other
- Research travel, field work
- Conference, training, guest speaker
- Business meeting
- Recruiting
The Business Travel/Other policy is more expensive than the study abroad policy. Information in the GTR must indicate that the traveler is participating in an activity covered under the Study Abroad policy for those rates to be applied. Once charged by the Office of Risk Management, premiums are not refundable.
Enrollment Notifications
Travelers will receive an email from CISI prior to departure notifying them of their enrollment and providing information on how to access the insurance. This is an automatic process. This enrollment email from CISI will contain coverage documentation, how to set up an account in the CISI portal, and a consulate/visa coverage letter.
Note: The process of sending enrollment files to CISI is dependent on an API from the GTR to CISI. In the event of the failure of the API, a manual process may be used by the Office of Risk Management based on the date of departure, in which Risk Management will periodically send enrollment files to CISI prior to departure, or closer to departure if a late addition to the GTR.
Additional information, including what to do in an emergency, will be provided by GEO’s Global Safety Office prior to departure.
Consulate/Visa Coverage Letters
Certain countries require letters confirming coverage that meets or exceeds a federal requirement. A letter is provided in the initial CISI enrollment email. If a letter is needed earlier in the trip planning process, contact insuranceabroad@vt.edu.
Standard Billing Procedures (Department-Funded)
Information will be pulled from Emburse into the GTR for most department-funded travel, including travel dates and the fund/org that is funding the travel. The Office of Risk Management will use this information to charge departments for insurance premiums unless the traveler provides updated information to the GTR. Travelers are enrolled in the insurance for the date range in the GTR based on the daily rates of the policy in force on the first day of travel for up to one year of travel.
Fund Source
The Office of Risk Management will charge the fund/org associated with the Emburse trip pre-approval for the required insurance. If the department determines that the insurance should be allocated differently, the cost may be transferred after the insurance charge is placed via JE. F funds and OSP funds may be charged the cost of the insurance.
For faculty leading study abroad programs, the program fund and org with GEO or the College should be used as the funding source on their Emburse trip pre-approval.
There may be some non-credit or other programs that have centralized funding without travel being submitted into Emburse. Approval from the funding department may be needed, but travel can be indicated as centrally funded even if the initial data comes from outside Emburse.
Billing Timeline
The traveler should use all available measures to ensure that the information in the GTR is accurate and complete. The process outlined below is conducted AFTER travel has concluded for department-funded travel and is not an opportunity for travelers and/or departments to provide updated travel information.
The Office of Risk Management charges premiums to departments on a monthly basis. Below is an example schedule.
For travel with an end date during March (3/1-3/31):
- On or around the last date of travel, traveler (and delegate, if applicable) receives an email reminder that the charge for insurance premiums will be placed in the following month.
- By April 10, GEO’s Global Safety Office and the Office of Risk Management will review travel concluded in March.
- Journal Entry (JE) file will be established to debit departments and credit 659164 (Insurance Abroad Premiums), managed by the Office of Risk Management.
- Account Code: 124ZL
- Description: [PA Report ID] [traveler first five letters last name] [departure date] By April 20, the Office of Risk Management provides JE files to the Controller’s Office to collect premiums from departments.
- By April 30 (last day of the month), Risk Management sends a confirmation email to travelers that the premium charge has been placed.
Once paid to the Office of Risk Management, premiums are not refundable. The above schedule may be adjusted forward to account for deadlines for year-end transactions.
VT faculty-led study abroad programs
The information exported from My Study Abroad into the GTR will be used to bill GEO for VT-led study abroad programs, with input from GEO and/or the sponsoring unit as needed. The Office of Risk Management will charge GEO (or the managing department/college, if other than GEO) for the aggregate cost of insurance for each program to the program-specific fund/org. These costs are passed on to travelers through separate GEO procedures. The standard notification procedures outlined above for other department-funded travel will not be used, as the cost of the insurance program is a known and foreseeable expense.
Charges for the insurance will be made after the trip's departure date and are not refundable.
Financial Accommodations
Travelers are encouraged to include the cost of the Global Medical & Security Insurance in their Emburse pre-approval based on the rates published on the Risk Management Insurance Abroad website. If departments would like adjustments to be made to this standard schedule to accommodate fiscal year end or for other financial considerations, the department must contact the Office of Risk Management prior to the start of travel. Only the following accommodations can be made while complying with Travel procedures:
Premiums can be charged to the department up to 90 days prior to the departure date. Once paid to the Office of Risk Management, premiums are not refundable.
Adjustments
The Office of Risk Management will utilize the travel dates on file within the GTR. Risk Management will adjust travel days and the resulting premium amounts after the start of travel only under exigent circumstances.
Errors & Corrections
Incorrect departmental fund/org
Once a premium charge has been placed with a department, the Office of Risk Management will not make corrections if the incorrect fund was on file in the GTR (i.e., departmental error or incorrect Emburse trip pre-approval). Departments will need to make further adjustments on their end if desired.
Risk Management will correct journal entries if an incorrect fund is charged, i.e., a manual transcription error occurs on the part of Risk Management.
Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF)
Departments are responsible for resolving any NSF errors that arise through the posting of these charges.
Other errors
Other errors made by the Office of Risk Management will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
Student Self-Pay Billing Standard Procedures
For those students eligible to enroll in the university’s Global Medical & Security Insurance but are responsible for funding their own travel, the Office of Risk Management will utilize the information in the GTR to place a charge on the individual travelers’ student account with the Office of the University Bursar (OUB). Examples could include:
- Third-party program study abroad
- Exchange programs
- Direct Enroll programs
- Global externships and internships
- Global research
- International conference
- Non-credit programs reviewed by GNAC
Note: Alumni participating in Alumni Association run trips and Registered Student Organizations on non-university-supported travel are NOT eligible for the university’s Global Medical & Security Insurance.
Billing Timeline
Students will be advised prior to their trip the amount of the charge that will be placed on their student account, which will display as "CISI Insurance Abroad." Billing procedures will run periodically, with charges placed on student accounts after their trip departure date. Premiums not refundable after the departure date.
Students will need to follow standard OUB payment procedures.
Dependent and Guest Enrollment
Dependents
Dependents are sometimes required to enroll in the university’s Global Medical & Security Insurance. Dependents are never paid for by the university.
- Required to enroll: dependents traveling with a university-supported group.
- Required to enroll: guests on university-supported travel.
- Strongly encouraged to enroll: dependents accompanying individual university-supported travelers (i.e., not a group).
Dependent coverage must be purchased directly from CISI after the VT-affiliated traveler has been registered in the GTR (i.e., Emburse trip pre-approval has already been submitted). A paper form can be submitted to CISI to initiate the dependent/guest enrollment process; contact insuranceabroad@vt.edu for more information.
Guests/Non-Employees
Guests are individuals unaffiliated with Virginia Tech whose travel is paid for by the university. A fiscal tech or other employee will be required to enter their travel into Emburse, and to supply supplemental information into the GTR. As with other department-funded travelers, the department on file in Emburse will be charged for their insurance.
Definitions & Acronyms
Financial Information
- 0525 (Central Insurance Accounts) - Department in which premiums are paid and collected.
- 052542 (Insurance Premiums) - Org in which premiums are paid to CISI and collect distributed premiums.
- 659164 (Insurance Abroad Premiums) – local fund used to pay institutional premiums, receive funds from departments, and receive funds from students.
- 124ZL (International Travel Insurance) - account code used to pay institutional premiums and receive funds from departments.
- Transaction Description – [first five digits of traveler last name] [departure date] [PA#] insurance abroad. Ex: Johns 07/01/2026 135791357
- AT26 (CISI Insurance Abroad) – account detail code used to charge student accounts for the Global Medical & Security Insurance. Displays on the student account as “CISI insurance abroad.”
Acronyms
- CISI – Cultural Insurance Services International (Global Medical & Security Insurance program provider)
- Emburse – Virginia Tech’s travel authorization and P-card reconciliation system
- GEO – Global Education Office
- GNAC – Global Noncredit Approval Committee
- GTR – Global Travel Registry
- JE – Journal Entry
- NSF – Non-Sufficient Funds
- OUB – Office of the University Bursar
- ORM – Office of Risk Management
- PY – policy year
- Terra Dotta / My Study Abroad – Global Education Office Study Abroad Management Platform
Version History
Initial procedures publication date: 6/15/2026
Effective Date: Travel with a departure date on or after 7/1/2026