15 Jun 2026
From: Global Education Office
Starting July 1, Virginia Tech will change how it processes mandatory global medical and security insurance for university-supported international travel.
The change affects students, employees, and guests traveling internationally on university-supported travel, as well as students studying abroad and participants in noncredit university-sponsored international programs. Only travel beginning on or after July 1, 2026, will be affected.
The updated process is intended to simplify insurance enrollment and billing for travelers and departments while continuing to meet university policy requirements.
University Policy 1070 still requires all travelers on international university-supported travel to be enrolled in the university’s designated global medical and security insurance.
Cultural Insurance Services International (CISI) will remain the university’s designated insurance provider.
The CISI policy will continue to provide emergency medical coverage and evacuation, security evacuation, and repatriation services.
The Global Education Office’s Global Safety Office will continue to maintain the university’s Global Travel Registry, which is populated with information from Emburse and My Study Abroad.
The Global Safety Office will continue to serve as the point of contact for preparing for, mitigating, and responding to emergencies abroad.
Insurance program management: The Office of Risk Management will become the point of contact for CISI enrollment and billing.
No separate insurance enrollment: Travelers will no longer need to self-enroll in the university’s global medical and security insurance. The Office of Risk Management will use information from the Global Travel Registry, initially populated from Emburse travel pre-approval forms and My Study Abroad, to enroll travelers in the required insurance.
Internal payment of premiums: The Office of Risk Management will collect premiums from departments through a journal entry or from individual students by posting a charge to their student account. Premiums are calculated based on the number of travel days. For students studying abroad with faculty-led programs, premiums will be included in program fees.
Waiver of mandatory CISI coverage: Review of insurance waiver requests has transitioned from the Global Safety Office to the Office of Risk Management. To ensure compliance with Policy 1070 and maintain robust coverage for all Virginia Tech international travelers, waivers of the mandatory CISI coverage will no longer be available based on travel to one’s country of citizenship or legal permanent residence. For information, visit the Insurance Abroad Waivers webpage.
For university-supported travel, timely submission of an Emburse travel pre-approval will be critical. This is how travelers are entered into the Global Travel Registry and enrolled in the required insurance. Travelers should submit their Emburse travel pre-approval at least 14 days before departure, or earlier for high-risk travel.
For more information, including FAQs, visit risk.vt.edu/insurance/insurance-abroad.
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