guard.me is designed specifically to meet the needs of the international education community. Eligible applicants include:

• International students
• Study abroad
• Teachers
• School faculty and staff
• Exchange programs and camps
• Co-ops, internships and work projects, general work and study
• Trainees
• Dependants and immediate family members when the student is also insured
• Domestic students (Canadian citizens and permanent residents) who have been living outside Canada prior to attending UVic

If you are affiliated with UVic but are not automatically enrolled in the guard.me@UVic plan, you can purchase medical insurance coverage from guard.me using the Affiliate option. Affiliate categories include:

• Visiting research students, post-doctoral fellows, and visiting scholars
• Canadian citizens who are new to Canada, including dual citizens
• Canadian permanent residents who are new to Canada

To apply, visit the Visiting Research Students and Affiliates page.

Most new international students are automatically enrolled in the guard.me@UVic plan upon registering in classes. You will receive confirmation of enrolment approximately two weeks before the beginning of your first term at UVic. If you are unsure if you will be automatically enrolled, you can contact icsinfo@uvic.ca.

If you purchased coverage online via the Affiliate option, you will receive an automatic email after you complete the online application and payment. The email will include information on how to log in to your guard.me account to access your policy details and download your Healthcare Access Card. This will also be where you will submit any claims.

Your policy may have an excursion benefit that covers you outside of Canada. For complete details on the excursion benefit included in your policy, refer to the policy wording.

Yes, you can apply for your dependents using the online application form. Certain restrictions apply, please refer to the policy wording for eligibility requirements.

Enrolment in the guard.me@UVic plan is mandatory unless:

• You will be outside of Canada for the entire coverage period;
• You have a chronic condition and proof of alternative coverage; or
• You are covered by one of the following:
  • BC Medical Services Plan (BC MSP)
  • Canadian provincial or territorial public health plan
  • Saudi Arabian Cultural Bureau-sponsored plan
  • Libyan-North American Scholarship Program-sponsored plan
  • African Leaders of Tomorrow Scholarship Program-sponsored plan
  • Corbett British Columbia-Washington International Exchange & Fellowship Program

To demonstrate proof of coverage in one of these plans, you must provide a copy of each side of your identity card. Copies of your passport, UVic ONECard, etc. will not be accepted as proof of coverage. 

If you submit proof of coverage before your opt-out deadline and your request is approved, the MTMI fee will be removed from your UVic student account.

If you miss the opt out deadline or have questions, please visit or contact the International Centre for Students (ICS).

If you will be outside of Canada for the summer session (May-August) 2024, you will be eligible to opt out, regardless of whether you are currently covered by a similar health plan. 

If your opt-out request is approved, the MTMI fee will be removed from your UVic student account.

If you miss your opt-out deadline, or have questions, please contact the International Centre for Students (ICS).

If you have a chronic condition and proof of alternative coverage, you may be eligible to opt out. You must complete an appeal form and submit it along with supporting documentation to the International Centre for Students (ICS) at UVic on or before the opt-out deadline for your first term. If your appeal is approved, the MTMI fee will be removed from your account. For more information on this process, contact the ICS at icsinfo@uvic.ca.

If you opt out after the deadlines noted above, you may be eligible for a partial reimbursement of the unused portion of your insurance.

You must meet all of the following requirements:

• you have not used the guard.me@UVic plan;
• you have active coverage with one of the eligible plans noted above, and
• you have at least one month of coverage remaining under the guard.me@UVic plan when your opt-out request is received.

If your application for a partial reimbursement is approved, guard.me will deposit the refund amount to your bank account in Canada within 3-4 weeks.

To opt out, you must complete the online request form at https://www.guard.me/uvic/optout/opt-out. If your application for a partial reimbursement is approved, guard.me will deposit the refund amount to your bank account in Canada within 3-4 weeks.

Your application for a partial reimbursement must be received by guard.me before the last month of your first term (i.e. on or before March 31 for Spring term, July 31 for Summer session, and November 30 for Fall term).

If your partial reimbursement request is not approved, either you are not eligible to opt out or there was an issue with your application. Guard.me will email you with a list of potential reasons why your request was not approved. Please review the criteria. If you are eligible, you will need to update your application and re-submit it via the opt-out page. 

If you need more information about why your request was not approved, please contact guard.me Customer Care at 905-752-6230 or 1-888-756-8428 or email: customercare@guard.me.  

When accessing medical services, provide the service provider, clinic, or hospital with your policy information found on your Healthcare Access Card. You will also need to provide photo identification.

You must call the emergency assistance number (1-888-756-8428) before incurring expenses for any of the following:

• Admission to hospital as an in-patient
• Major diagnostic tests
• Dental injury
• Surgery air evacuation
• Repatriation or burial

In some cases, health care providers will bill guard.me directly. If they are unable to do direct billing, you will need to pay for the service and submit a claim for reimbursement online.

If your claim is approved, you will receive reimbursement directly from guard.me.

After your partial reimbursement request is received and approved, there is a waiting period of 30 days to ensure no claims have been submitted under your coverage. After the 30-day period, if no claims have been made the refund process will be initiated. You should then receive your refund directly from guard.me to your  

Yes, as a recent graduate you are eligible to apply for guard.me Canada coverage. Before you apply, review the plan available to you, as it may not the same plan that you have had throughout school. There is a minimum purchase requirement, and the maximum you can purchase as a recent graduate is one (1) year.

You must apply within 30 days of your guard.me policy expiry date. If you miss the deadline, you will not be eligible to apply for graduate coverage.

In order to retrieve your lost Healthcare Access Card, simply log in to My Account and download a copy of your card.
If you have not yet created your account, you can create an account using your contact information and policy number at https://www.guard.me/uvic/register.

If UVic has arranged guard.me insurance on your behalf, the fee will be applied to your UVic account and you can pay it using the same method you use to pay tuition. See Paying your tuition fees on the UVic website for details.

If you are purchasing a guard.me policy online, you will pay for your plan on the payment page. You can pay directly on the secure payment page by using a credit card (VISA, Mastercard), debit card or via Paypal (Paypal account, VISA, or AMEX).

The reason your card was declined is indicated in red on the decline message you receive when paying for your insurance. Please check your payment card status and number again and re-try. If the error message has nothing to do with the credit card itself, please click here to report this incident to us.