Insurance

Insurance is a key component to your year abroad.   Not only is it important to be prepared to deal with unexpected occurrences and potentially large financial payments, but it is something that both the State Department, and Rotary International have as a prerequisite for being on exchange.

Rotary International in particular has requirements that insist that you are covered not just for medical care in your host country, but that you are covered for the following that are typically not part of any insurance or national insurance plan

• Coverage while travelling to and from the country

• Travelling to other countries during your year

• Evacuation out of the country in case of a poltical upheaval

• Coverage for transport costs in case of death

• Others we will cover during Student Orientation

The covereage limits for medical care also ensure that you have higher limits than most natioanl health insurance plans.  The total cost for the Rotary International Insurance ranges from $1000-$1200.  Note, this is purely the cost of the insurance plan.  No funds go to Rotary or any Rotarian.

Additionally, some countries will require participation in their National Health Plan.  This will require you to pay into their national health insurance, and is often an added expense.  It may seem duplicative, but national insurance plans will not cover you as you travel out of country, nor do they cover you while in transit.  They do not cover poltiical upheaval, nor the other items Rotary International mandates.   If you are going to a country that requires participation in their national plan, it is simply an additional cost you will need to plan for.  Typically this ranges from $500-$1000.

In total, your insurance costs for the year may total anywhere from $1000-$2200, but it is a key component to a successful exchange.   It is often mitigated by taking yourself off of any auto insurance plan while you are away, since you will not be able to drive during the program.

Once you are accepted into the program, you will have an Outbound Orientation in February or March.   More details will be provided then.   You can expect to receive an email asking you to purchase your CSRYE insurance sometime in April.  It will have a link that will take you to the site where you will purchase the policy.  You will then receive an email from the insurance copany that has your "card" (which will just be a pdf page with the printable card at the bottom).  If you need to buy more insruance from your host distrcit, they will send you instructions on how to do that.    You will likely be responsible for sending your proof of coverage (your insurance card, and/or what your host distrcit has you buy) to the travel agency you'll be working with.   Again, most of this will be convered in the Outbound Orientation