Travel Insurance and Certificates
TRAVEL INSURANCE & CERTIFICATES
The University’s Travel Insurance is provided by AIG ( American International Group UK Limited). This provides cover for Directors, Employees, Emeritus Fellows, Associate Fellows and Students of the University of Reading, and any person travelling with the knowledge and consent of the University and their accompanying Spouse/Partner and/or Children.
It should be noted that any Insurance cover is subject to terms & conditions and there may be restrictions and exclusions in place. Failure to comply with these conditions may prejudice the traveller’s position to recover losses in the event of a claim.
Details of the Lifeline Plus Policy, a summary of its features and confirmation of cover for your trip are available here:AIG Lifeline Travel Policy Wording
AIG Cover Confirmation Letter and Travel Pack
Lifeline Plus virtual certificate Download Guide
Lifeline Plus policy number 0010016165
Travellers are advised to review information on the country or countries they plan to visit by logging on to the AIG Travel Guard webpage. This is an online travel assistance service provided by our insurers to help you prepare for a trip and support you while you’re travelling. Here you can sign up to country specific risk alerts and access travel guidance & advice.
Insurance Requirements when travelling to Sanctioned Countries or High Risk Territories
Sanctions consist of a wide range of political and/or economic measures which are put in place by international, regional and state bodies with the aim of influencing the behaviour of a particular
country’s regimes, individuals or groups. The types of sanctions measures put in place can vary widely including (inter alia): financial restrictions, import/export restrictions and travel bans.
Please check the latest FCDO update of ALL financial sanctions imposed in the UK here sanctioned countries
If you are travelling to one of the sanctioned countries listed below, you must complete the Sanctioned territories referral questionnaire before you travel, which will be shared with our Insurance Broker. This will allow insurers to screen the information for any potential sanction breaches in advance and confirm whether cover can be provided. Travelling to such countries can increase the risk of travel, so our insurers need to consider carefully the full details of your planned activities before travel commences. The questionnaire should be completed as soon as possible, at least 21 days prior to departure and sent to uor-insurance@reading.ac.uk.
University of Reading Financial Sanctions Policy
In addition to Sanctioned countries, our insurers also require the university to declare trips to high risk territories. Due to these increased risks our insurers need to consider carefully the full details of your planned activities before travel commences. If you are travelling to any of the following high risk destinations please complete the Security Questionnaire as soon as possible and submit this to the insurance office at least 21 days prior to departure.
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Any other Territories whereby UK FCDO advises against All TravelSanctioned Countries High Risk Territories Belarus Afghanistan Crimea Region of Ukraine Belarus Cuba Chechnya Iran Iraq North Korea Israel (including Gaza, West Bank & Occupied Palestinian Territories) Russia Libya Sudan Somalia South Sudan Yemen Syria
Install the Travel App before you depart
In addition to this Travellers can also access full travel, security and assistance services directly on their mobile phones, via the Lifeline Plus Travel Assistance App. The App features a quick-call help button, together with a geo-fenced check-in tool that enables you to notify selected contacts that you have arrived safely and also offers the benefit of a quick claim notification service. There is access to a GPS enabled medical provider finder, medical translation and drug brand equivalency tools, country and city reports, security alerts and online training modules. To download the app onto an iPhone or Android device please refer to the App Download Guide.
You will need to register for this both these services using your staff email address and Policy Number 0010016165
Participating in Dangerous Sports and Activities
During your free time whilst on your trip overseas you may wish to participate in sports and other activities such as cycling, scuba diving and skiing. Please see the FAQ pages in the 'Booking & Authorising Travel' section for more information on what is covered in the Policy.
Medication & Pre-Existing Conditions
The UoR Travel Policy covers any eventuality of a traveller feeling unwell or suffering an accident whilst abroad - protecting against unforeseen eventualities.
Any traveller, as soon as feeling unwell, should contact the AIG Emergency Assistance line - their medical team will support where possible and appropriate, will arrange Guarantee of Payment with local medical facilities - thus removing the financial onus from the traveller.
If you take regular medication (prescribed) please ensure you take an adequate stock when you travel overseas and ensure that the medication you are taking is permitted by your destination country. This information can be found on the FCDO website or the AIG travel App. The travel insurance policy will not pay for medication for ongoing pre-existing medical conditions (e.g. asthma, diabetes) if you forget to take them. Prescription medication should be carried in hand luggage and be clearly labelled with prescription information from your doctor.
Our Travel and Personal Accident insurance policy covers pre-existing treatments IN FULL - provided that:
a) A medical practitioner has not advised against travel
b) The trip is less than 12 months
c) The treatment is not deemed as routine and ongoing (for example, regular testing/medication and monitoring of a condition)
So if someone has a pre-existing condition and unexpectedly feels unwell, the policy would respond for any costs incurred for testing and treatment. It would be advisable (if possible) to split medication between carry on and hold luggage to minimise any disruption caused by luggage being delayed etc and similarly enough medication should be taken for the trip duration with surplus in case any go missing etc.
We highly recommend you download the TravelApp, which will give you access to full travel, security and medical assistance services which includes a medical equivalency function so they can check the local name of the drug if needed to buy more whilst abroad and also provides access to full travel, security and medical assistance services.
Travel Insurance vs Private Medical Coverage
Some destinations around the Globe have specific Insurance requirements for international travellers whereby traditional Travel Insurance will not be accepted and comprehensive medical insurance will be required These requirements vary from country to country and may be conditional upon length of stay, activities ie leisure, employment or study) or other local laws,
For this reason we recommend travellers check Entry Requirements for their destination from the UK FCDO website and in addition check any specific Insurance requirements as part of any Visa application