2024-25 Travel Abroad Health Insurance

Traveling abroad? This inexpensive health insurance plan can provide peace of mind for travelers from all three U-M campuses.

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Important requirement

Students, faculty, and staff from all U-M campuses who travel abroad for University-related purposes must have U-M Travel Abroad Health Insurance and register in the U-M Travel Registry. (University-related purposes may include but are not limited to study, research, internships, service, conferences, presentations, teaching, performances, or athletic competitions).

U-M contracts with GeoBlue, a leader in international travel health insurance, to provide this coverage.

How to purchase/sign in

Three plans are available, and your plan will depend on the purpose of your travel. For questions, you may email [email protected]. Benefits are listed in this section as well as in Political and Natural Disaster Evacuation below. 

Please choose your purpose for travel:

About the plan:

To purchase/sign in (if your department is not purchasing this insurance for you):

About the plan:

  • You must purchase this plan prior to departure.
  • Cost: $1.68 per person/day plus a $5 administrative fee per person per trip
  • Plan may be purchased by students and current faculty and staff under age 80.
  • Plan may be purchased for spouses / domestic partners and dependents traveling with the covered individual.
  • For plan details:
  • Enroll and purchase here (if/when prompted to log in, use your U-M email address).
  • This plan covers up to 364 days. If you need longer coverage, contact the Managed Care/Student Insurance Office.
  • Cost: No cost, the plan automatically covers you; you do not need to purchase.
  • What you need to do:
  1. Register your trip with the U-M Travel Registry.
  2. Sign in on the GeoBlue website and enter Group Access Code QHE99999UMBT​. This will allow you to access information about medical care at your destinations and more. Please note: If you have previously signed in to GeoBlue using the Group Access Code, you may need to log in at the top right corner of the page at “Login as a member."

Effective dates (for study abroad and personal/leisure plans only)

Coverage will begin on the date requested on the online enrollment form. Coverage is effective 24 hours a day, worldwide.

Coverage will end on the earliest of the following dates:

  • Date the participant ceases to meet eligibility requirements
  • End date requested in the online or paper enrollment form
  • First date for which premium and fees have not been paid

How to extend coverage beyond the original purchase

For students on study abroad or personal/leisure travel: To extend coverage, you must: 
1) Update your trip through U-M Travel Registry and 
2) Enroll and purchase the insurance via the link to the GeoBlue website in your confirmation email and M-Compass Registration Checklist page. Payment is due at the time of enrollment.

For faculty and staff on personal/leisure travel: To extend coverage, you must: 
1. Update your trip through U-M Travel Registry. 
2. Enroll and purchase the insurance via the link to the GeoBlue website on the last page. Payment is due at the time of enrollment.

Using your benefits

Whenever possible, you should contact GeoBlue in advance. 

In a non-emergency, GeoBlue will assist you in making appointments as long as you contact them first, and whenever possible, GeoBlue will pay the medical provider directly.

In an emergency, seek appropriate medical care first, then call GeoBlue for immediate assistance.

If you require medical evacuation, you must contact GeoBlue in advance or your evacuation will not be eligible for reimbursement.

To contact GeoBlue, call:

  • Inside the U.S., call 800-257-4823
  • Outside the U.S., call +1-610-254-8771 (collect) or 1-888-243-2358

GeoBlue maintains a 24/7 call center to assist members with a wide variety of services including:

  • Locating medical care
  • Medical evacuation planning and coordination
  • Medical monitoring and referral
  • Coordination of hospital payment guarantees
  • Arranging direct pay

When you show your Medical Insurance ID card, doctors and hospitals usually send GeoBlue a bill for services that are received abroad.

Sometimes a doctor or a health care facility may ask you to pay the bill, or you may need to file a claim for prescription medication. In these cases ask the doctor, hospital, or pharmacy for a copy of the bill and a receipt for your payment. You will need these documents to allow GeoBlue to reimburse you.

To request reimbursement, you must submit a claim form. Please request a claim form by contacting the UHS Managed Care/Student Insurance Office. 

Political and Natural Disaster Evacuation Coverage

Political and natural disaster (P/ND) evacuation assistance is available in many but not all countries for U-M faculty, staff, students, and their eligible accompanying dependents. To receive this support, travelers must be eligible for the U-M GeoBlue international health insurance plan, must Register their Travel, and meet other special conditions outlined below. This support is not always available for personal/leisure travelers as outlined below.

While this support is provided in most locations throughout the world, it is not available in some locations, and in some others, pre-approval from the security firm is required. See Warning / Restriction Locations; the pre-approval process is initiated by Registering Travel at least 3 weeks prior to departure.  Pre-approval will only be sought for travel that is for urgent and compelling reasons, and pre-approval will require the traveler to complete a safety plan and sign a waiver of liability. Pre-approval will not be sought for personal/leisure travel, so personal/leisure travel to these exception destinations is without evacuation support from the U-M.

This evacuation assistance is provided by Crisis24 and must be coordinated through U-M and GeoBlue. Benefits include:

  • $100,000 per covered person when the U.S. or foreign government issues an evacuation order for political or security reasons, or if an area is declared uninhabitable in the event of a natural disaster
  • Provides coverage to a safe haven, with limited accommodation benefits
  • Coverage for travel from safe haven back to the U.S.

There's an app for that!

After you enroll, download the GeoBlue app from your app store, then log in with the information in the confirmation email you receive. 

With the app, you can:

  • Search providers for medical, dental, or mental health care and map them using GPS technology.*
  • Arrange Direct Pay for future appointments to secure cashless access to care.
  • Access issued guarantees of payment to view and share with doctors and hospitals.
  • File a claim by entering information or sending a photo of a completed form.**
  • Find a medication’s availability, generic name, and local brand name.
  • Translate medical terms and phrases for many symptoms and situations; use the audio feature to play the translation.
  • Display an ID Card on a smartphone and email/fax a copy directly to the provider’s office.
  • View country or city profiles on crime, terrorism, and natural disasters.

For more information

GeoBlue for U-M educational activities, business travel, and personal/leisure travel:

  • Visit their website through the U-M Travel Registry
  • Inside the U.S., call GeoBlue at 1-800-257-4823
  • Outside the U.S., call GeoBlue at +1-610-254-8771 (collect) or 1-800-257-4823
  • For business travelers outside the U.S., call GeoBlue at +1-610-254-5830 (collect) 
  • Email [email protected]

UHS Travel Health Services

Global Michigan, a portal for all things international

UHS Managed Care/Student Insurance Office:

  • For questions or assistance with the plan
  • Telephone 734-764-5182
  • Toll-free 866-368-0002
  • Email [email protected]

Looking for last year's plan details? See the 2023-24 Travel Abroad page.

Travel Abroad Health Insurance