Student insurance

Update for travel insurance in the Middle East

As of 28 April, 2026

For a full summary of cover and emergency assistance details, refer to the 2025-2026 Travel Summary Booklet (pdf, 1.6 MB).

For claims, follow the steps for travel claims on this page. Make sure you keep records of all invoices and other evidence in relation to any future/potential insurance claim.

The University's corporate travel insurance policy will cover travellers already overseas with emergency medical, evacuation and certain political risk evacuations.
It can cover loss of deposits and extra expenses when a trip is cancelled due to an insured event.
The cover is for University students and staff on approved travel.

University students who have been affected by the Middle East conflict should be covered by the University's travel insurance policy. This would include reasonable costs for temporary accommodation and rescheduling flights.
If the airline cancels and a student needs to reroute, non-refundable costs of the new flights and extra accommodation may be considered.
Students should note that cancelling a flight themselves may be treated by the airline as a voluntary change and could affect refund eligibility. Individuals in Iraq will not be covered by insurance, unless they arranged special one-off insurance cover before they started their trip.

Students who are cancelling pre-booked trips to the Middle East should be covered if the airline has cancelled their flight or if the country's travel advisory status on Smartraveller has changed to Do Not Travel.
Cancellations by students close to the travel date (e.g. within a few weeks of departure) when a current Do Not Travel advisory applies are more likely to be viewed as reasonable, than cancellations made several months in advance.
Students should first seek airline options (rebooking or rerouting) rather than cancelling outright, and only cancel where rerouting is not possible or would be clearly unreasonable.
The travel advisories are updated regularly. For more information on the region, check the Smartraveller's Middle-East Travel Advice and Safety.

If you book travel to the Middle East now, and subsequently have to cancel because of the conflict, you will probably not be covered by travel insurance. This is because at the time of booking the conflict was a known risk.
Students are advised not to book University travel to, or transit through, destinations with a Do Not Travel advisory. Insurance cover cannot be guaranteed in these circumstances.

What's covered

You are covered by the University's travel insurance policy only if the activity has been appropriately approved in writing before commencement.

You must be currently enrolled or admitted to candidature, and your travel needs to meet the following criteria.

Your travel is a formally approved part of your curriculum-related studies and contributes to the completion of your enrolled degree (for example, student exchange, vocational placement and research fieldwork).
Your travel is formally approved by your faculty or school before your departure. You are required to have written confirmation of the approval from the University to include in any insurance claims you make.
You are representing the University (for example, on a pre-approved sporting or debating team/activity) and have been formally approved.

The insurance cover will last for the duration of the course or placement, and any additional days at the start or the end that are deemed appropriate. These additional days can be up to a maximum of one week (7 days) at either end of the approved activity.

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There is an excess of $3,000 on non-medical expenses, which the faculty or school is required to bear. Make sure you clearly understand what’s covered and the costs that will be refunded (if any) by the University before you travel.

Excess of $3,000 on non-medical expenses

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The maximum duration for each trip covered by your insurance is 365 days. Any extension must be pre-approved by the insurer before you commence travel. You need to confirm in advance with insurance@sydney.edu.au whether the University’s travel insurer will extend insurance cover for your trip beyond the 365-day limit.

Coverage of up to 365 days

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Not covered

Extended personal travel

During your University-authorised travel, the University's travel insurance covers personal travel on weekends within the same country as your exchange/placement. You are not covered for periods of extended personal travel you take before, during or after the approved University travel activity.

If you have any questions about whether your personal travel will be covered, contact usyd.assistance.inbox@aon.com

In situations where you are not covered by the University's travel insurance, you need to consider taking out your own travel insurance. Most insurers will require you to take out your own travel insurance for the duration of your trip, including the portion that is covered by the University. Having dual cover does not affect your ability to make a claim.

You can purchase separate personal travel cover at your own cost from an insurance provider.

Sanctioned countries

Some countries are not covered by the University's travel insurance because they are subject to sanctions or are deemed to be higher risk for travellers.

If you want to travel to countries that have been sanctioned by Australia or the UN, US or EU, contact usyd.assistance.inbox@aon.com to discuss your options.

Policy details

The Corporate Travel insurance policy applies if the distance exceeds 50 km from the place of departure to and from the place of business (excluding everyday travel). The policy covers a range of things such as loss of deposits, luggage, personal effects, overseas medical expenses and so on.

For more information on what you are covered for in the University's travel insurance policy, you can refer to the documents below.

2025–2026 Travel Summary Booklet

Filename: travel-claims-summary.pdf
Title: 2025–2026 Travel Summary Booklet
Size: 1 MB
Format: application/pdf
Extension: pdf

2025-2026 Travel product disclosure statement, Policy Wording & Schedule

Filename: travel-product-disclosure-statement.pdf
Title: 2025-2026 Travel product disclosure statement, Policy Wording & Schedule
Size: 5 MB
Format: application/pdf
Extension: pdf

Health requirement

If you have pre-existing medical conditions, you will need to provide Aon with a 'fit for travel' letter from your treating doctor, which includes:

details of your condition
management of the condition
your suitability for overseas travel.

Email a copy of this letter to usyd.assistance.inbox@aon.com and hold onto it in case you need to make a claim.

Exclusions

If you are in Australia on a student visa, or residing here temporarily, you are not covered for medical expenses if you travel back to your home country.

If you undertake placement or an approved activity in your home country, there are certain restrictions around country of residence cover, such as medical expenses incurred within your country of residence, as you are expected to have this cover as a resident.

The University’s student travel insurance also does not cover:

routine medical procedures (such as check-ups)
loss or damage to personal effects (there must be evidence of theft).

COVID cover

Losses caused by an expected, known and/or foreseeable event within the control of students may not be covered under the policy.
Medical benefits will continue to be paid subject to the policy terms and conditions.

The insurer will assess individual instances on a case-by-case basis, looking at all the relevant circumstances.

Get proof of insurance

Print and keep your proof of insurance.

You should not provide copies of the insurance certificates to external organisations if the activity has not been appropriately approved by the University.

Proof of Travel Insurance, 2025-26

Filename: proof-of-travel-insurance.pdf
Title: Proof of Travel Insurance, 2025-26
Size: 138 KB
Format: application/pdf
Extension: pdf

Register your travel

If you are travelling overseas for University business, you are strongly encouraged to enter your University-authorised travel details onto the Global mobility travel registry at least 30 days prior to your departure. By registering your trip, you will:

be provided with important health, safety, logistical updates and assistance before, during, and after the international trip
enable rapid location and communication in case of an emergency
confirm that your trip has been authorised by the University, which is a requirement to be covered by the University’s travel insurance policy
meet the conditions of scholarships and funding associated with University-authorised travel.

Safety and security

In the event of a medical emergency, or if you need help in relation to your insurance coverage, call International SOS on +61 2 9372 2468 (reverse charge).

You can call this number from anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day and can reverse charge the call. Print and keep your proof of insurance to have these emergency contact details on hand.

Travel advice and security

You can visit the Australian Government’s Smartraveller website for travel advice.

Make a claim

Insurance excess

The following insurance excess applies.

Travel	Excess	Exclusions
Corporate travel	$3,000 per claim	The excess does not apply to 'overseas medical and additional expenses' (including medical evacuation and repatriation in the event of an injury, illness or death) or 'hospital cover', where the excess amount remains at zero and will be covered by the insurer.

The $3,000 insurance excess will be charged to your relevant faculty or school.

Steps to submit a claim

Lodge a claim through the claims portal. If this is your first time submitting a claim, you will need to register before proceeding. This applies to all students, including Higher Degree Research students.
Follow the steps found on page 12 of the 2025-26 Travel Claims Summary Booklet (pdf, 1.6 MB).
The 'Travel Approval' section should be completed by your University of Sydney exchange contact, which is usually the Study Abroad team. Email sydney.abroad@sydney.edu.au and ask for help completing this section. Otherwise, you need to obtain approval from your faculty/school supervisor who arranged your University authorised travel or exchange.

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If you are having trouble accessing the online claims portal, complete the <a href="https://www.csnet.com.au/docs/CSN-Travel-Claim-Form.pdf">Travel Claim Form (pdf, 840 KB)</a> instead and email it to ahclaims@gbtpa.com.au.

Can't access the claims portal?

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Supporting documents

To avoid requests for additional information and delays in processing of your claim, you should submit adequate evidence to support your claim, such as:

copies of medical reports
invoices/receipts/proof of payment for each expense you are claiming
police report
your itinerary
evidence of authorisation from the University to travel.

What happens next

Corporate Services Network (CSN) is the appointed claims manager for processing, assessing and paying validated student travel claims. CSN acts under the program on behalf of the University and AIG.

If you have submitted a non-medical related travel claim for more than $3,000, once CSN has assessed and validated your claim you will receive the payment in two instalments. One payment will be from the University ($3,000 excess) and the other from AIG (value over the excess).

Insurance excess

The University’s Group Personal Accident policy provides cover (primarily in Australia) for undergraduate and postgraduate students on pre-approved activities (e.g. placements, fieldwork, etc). Under the Group Personal Accident insurance policy, there is an insurance excess of:

$50 for medical expenses which are not covered by Medicare.
$1,000 for all other expenses.

If your claim relates to medical expenses which are covered by Medicare, even in part, they will not be covered by the Group Personal Accident policy.

Claims below the insurance excess

For claims below the insurance excess, you should contact your faculty or school in the first instance for consideration of cost reimbursement.

Claims above the insurance excess

For claims above the insurance excess, you have two options.

Option 1: Through the claims portal

Lodge a claim through the claims portal and follow the steps found on page 12 of the 2025-26 Travel Claims Summary Booklet (pdf, 1.6 MB) – you need to enter the Policy Number as '2200103822'.

Option 2: Email a claim form

Or, you can complete the personal accident claim form (pdf, 572 KB) and email it to ahclaims@gbtpa.com.au for assessment.

Contact us

For general insurance enquiries, email Scott Loder at scott.loder@aon.com or insurance@sydney.edu.au.

For emergency travel related enquiries, contact International SOS on +61 2 9372 2468 (reverse charge).

AON Risk Services is the University insurance broker. If you have travel and personal accident claim enquiries, email usyd.assistance.inbox@aon.com.

Current students