FAQs
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about Student Parachute membership. Student Defend and Student Secure members should refer to the member guide for the full terms and conditions of membership. Student Sentinel members should refer to the User Guide for their terms and conditions.
If you can’t find the answer to your question here, please contact us.
What do I do in an emergency?
If you have installed Sentinel Travel Oracle on your mobile device, press the "Emergency Assistance" button in the app to request help.
If you have installed CAP Advantage on your mobile device, press the Alert button in the app.
Our specialist security and evacuation teams respond immediately and can track, locate and contact you, guiding you to safety where necessary.
When geolocation tracking services are activated and a crisis or incident occurs near you, we will contact you to check on your safety and wellbeing. If we do not receive a response, we find other ways to confirm you are ok. We may call, email or SMS you and contact your university, local authorities and hospitals to seek information.
Our specialist team can provide you with advice about safety, local laws and liaise with government authorities. We can also transmit urgent messages to your university, consulate, family and friends. You can access interpreters, as well as get referrals to local legal and medical specialists. If you lose your passport, travel documents or credit cards, we can assist you to replace them.
What if I can’t find my membership details in an emergency?
Don’t worry. If you can, ensure you have a data connection and press the alert button in your CAP Advantage™ app or the Emergency Assistance button in the Travel Oracle app. If you’re not connected or have been separated from your phone, you can contact us via phone or email. If you don’t have your membership details handy, we will use other means to confirm your membership.
Who will be alerted if I am in trouble?
Our communication will depend on the situation or event. We will contact you to check on your safety and wellbeing if you press the Alert button in the CAP Advantage™ app or the Emergency Assistance button in the Sentinel Travel Oracle app, or if we determine that you are near an emergency or crisis event.
If we do not receive a response, we seek other means to confirm you are ok. We may call, email or SMS you and contact local authorities and hospitals to seek information.
If you are incapacitated or can’t be reached, we will notify the emergency contact nominated by you.
What types of incidents does Student Parachute respond to?
We can provide assistance services for a wide range of security incidents including:
- Active shooter
- Protests, riots and civil unrest
- Natural disasters
- Terrorism
- Pandemic
- Violent crime
- Wrongful detention
- Kidnap for ransom
- Blackmail or extortion
- Disappearance or loss of contact
- Hijacking.
I have overseas student health insurance, why do I need Student Parachute?
We recommend all members obtain comprehensive health and travel insurance for their international study experience. These types of insurance generally cover the financial risks associated with emergency hospital expenses in the event of sickness or injury. However, overseas student health cover and travel insurance provide little to no assistance for security incidents, such as a pandemic, terrorism event or natural disaster.
Insurance products also require you to suffer a loss before they can respond with financial compensation. Student Parachute geolocation tracking, security and evacuation membership complements health and travel insurance cover. It is a proactive service designed to steer you away from danger, and then get you to safety if the unexpected happens.
With access to thousands of specialist response teams around the world, we can deploy security resources to guide students to safety and bring them home to their families. This is a service not typically available in health or travel insurance policies.
Is it insurance?
No, Student Parachute is not insurance. It is a geolocation tracking, travel security and assistance membership service.
We promise to get you to safety and limit the impact or potential impact of the event on you and your travels. The extent or nature of any response, assistance and evacuation services provided is at our sole and absolute discretion.
Student Parachute does not provide any indemnity for loss or reimbursement of costs. Where payment for services is required in the delivery of services to you, we will pay directly to the service provider the reasonable and customary costs and charges we negotiate with them.
There is no need for you to pay upfront for response services or to complete a claims process.
What is Student Parachute?
Student Parachute is a simple, tech-friendly membership that helps protect international students when the unexpected strikes during their study abroad. You can read more about the benefits of membership here.
Do I have to be an international student to apply for Student Parachute? Or can I use Student Parachute membership as a student in my own country?
Our Student Parachute memberships have been designed specifically for international students. At this point in time, our memberships do not activate until you have left your home country, so they are unable to be used for domestic students.
Do you offer medical assistance?
Yes. There are three membership options – Student Sentinel, Student Secure and Student Defend. Only Student Defend members have access to medical advisory services.
We can assist members and their families to understand, monitor and coordinate a member’s emergency medical care needs. We can also assist with the coordination of medical bill payments, transportation of medical supplies and records, and the filing of travel and health insurance claims.
Who responds to incidents?
Our team is here 24/7 to assist you wherever you are in the world. You can contact us at any time via phone, email or by messaging through the CAP Advantage app or the Sentinel Travel Oracle app.
Our Crisis Response Centre is staffed by experienced security and medical professionals. You can ask for pre-travel advice or seek guidance on what to do if something does go wrong. Our highly experienced in-house crisis management and emergency response experts and security analysts will quickly help you via phone or in person.
If we determine that you need on-the-ground help, we tap into our network of vetted in-country emergency response teams to provide a trusted and reassuring service. We will coordinate all aspects of crisis response to bring you to safety.
What experience does Student Parachute have?
Student Parachute is powered by FocusPoint International and Healix International, which each have more than 40 years’ experience protecting travellers around the world with expert security and risk management services.
FocusPoint is a global risk consultancy that specialises in the full provision of travel risk management, business resiliency for multinational organisations and crisis response solutions. Headquartered in the United States, FocusPoint maintains offices and personnel in emerging markets and key business centres throughout the world.
FocusPoint is routinely engaged in 600 plus locations and 120 countries, with access to over 5,000 proprietary and vetted on-the-ground, multi-lingual, specialist crisis response teams. These specialist consultants and on-the-ground response personnel come from diverse backgrounds in law enforcement, elite military units, intelligence agencies, emergency medical and health care. Find out more.
Student Sentinel is powered by Healix International, a leader in medical, security and travel assistance services. Working on behalf of multinational corporations, governments, universities, NGOs, and insurers, Healix is entrusted with the security and welfare of millions of expatriates, students, travellers, and local nationals in every country of the world, 24 hours a day.
Healix has 40 years of experience providing healthcare and risk management solutions to a wide range of international clients. They currently have offices and operational centres in the UK, USA, New Zealand, Kenya, Singapore and Spain. Healix’s dedicated medical team of fully qualified doctors and nurses makes for the highest ratio of clinically trained staff in the managed health services industry, with extensive experience in international medicine, aviation medical care and emergency evacuations.
Healix also boasts a highly qualified team of global security specialists. This team provides clients with a proactive, customised approach to mitigating international travel risks, ensuring the security of their people and resources wherever they are around the globe. Find out more.
How can Student Parachute help me in a terrorist incident?
When a terrorist incident occurs, you will receive an alert via CAP Advantage™ or Sentinel Travel Oracle if you are near the incident or if you have registered to receive alerts for the affected country.
Our alerts are designed to provide real-time information, giving you the best chance to stay away from danger. If you are near the event, we MAY contact you to check you are safe and provide advice or assistance.
Usually, terrorist incidents are one-off events and may not trigger the need for an evacuation. However, if a series of incidents occur or if there is an imminent or ongoing threat to life, we may provide on-the-ground security services to arrange safe transport and evacuation out of the country.
How can Student Parachute help me in a natural disaster?
When a natural disaster occurs, you will receive an alert via CAP Advantage™ or Sentinel Travel Oracle if you are near the event or if you have registered to receive alerts for the affected country.
Our alerts are designed to provide real-time information, giving you the best chance to stay out of harm’s way. If you are near the event, we may contact you to check you are safe and provide advice or assistance.
With a natural disaster incident, there is often long-lasting damage, e.g. in the case of a hurricane or flood, which makes remaining in the disaster area dangerous. In this situation, we may recommend evacuation to a safe location. If this is the case and subject to your chosen membership, we can arrange all of the on-the-ground security and transport services to move you.
How can Student Parachute help me in a medical emergency?
Student Defend members have access to our medical assistance services.
We can assist members and their families to understand, monitor and coordinate a member’s emergency medical care needs. We can help coordinate medical bill payments, transportation of medical supplies and records, and the filing of travel and health insurance claims. We may also decide, at our discretion, to medically repatriate Student Defend members to their home country at no additional cost to them.
Do I need to pay anything more in case of an emergency?
If you get caught up in an emergency, and we decide to evacuate you, we will make arrangements to cover the cost or to deploy on-the-ground personnel to assist you, your Student Parachute membership covers the cost of securing your safety.
For Student Defend and Student Secure members, there are no additional fees to pay. This includes in-country assistance, evacuation costs such as flights, boats or ground transport and temporary accommodation. The extent or nature of any response, assistance and evacuation services we provide to members and any amounts we pay is at our sole and absolute discretion.
Will Student Parachute pay the cost of returning me/my family home or just to the nearest safe country?
Student Parachute prioritises your safety. Following an incident, we focus on getting you to a safe place and away from danger. Our Crisis Response Centre will determine the best course of action. This may be to evacuate you to your home country, to the nearest safe country, or for you to remain in another safe place until the incident passes.
For Student Defend and Student Secure Members, if we decide (at our discretion) to evacuate you or deploy on-the-ground specialists to assist you, your membership will cover the cost. Student Sentinel members should refer to www.studentparachute/disclaimer and the User Guide to understand the conditions under which on-the-ground specialists or evacuation assets may be deployed.
What happens if my membership expires?
If your membership expires, you will not be covered for security, protection and evacuation services. If you choose to extend your study you will need to get a new membership issued. If your membership is linked to an overseas student health policy or product, your health fund provider may withdraw your access to services at any time.
Can I cancel my membership?
Our Student Parachute memberships are non-transferable and non-refundable. We may however consider a request to close or refund part of your membership where:
- You paid for a membership but did not depart on your journey;
- You have paid a membership for an extended stay, but your student visa was not extended by the host country, and you have not been evacuated; or
- For reasons beyond your control, you must cease your studies and leave the host country before your visa expires, and we have not evacuated or assisted you.
If a request is accepted, we will refund the unused portion of your membership fee.
How do I close my membership or request a part-refund?
You can close your membership and/or request a part-refund by emailing information@studentparachute.com. In your email, you will need to provide us with documentary proof of why you need to close your membership.
Where can I find the terms and conditions of my membership?
Student Defend and Student Secure members should refer to Student Parachute Membership Guide to read the full terms and conditions of your membership. Student Sentinel members should refer to the terms set out in the User Guide and their welcome email.