Waiving SHIP

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Phone: (510) 642-5700 
Fax: (510) 642-9119
Email: ship@berkeley.edu

Send a secure message 
through the eTang patient portal. 

Location

Student Health Insurance Office
Tang Center, UC Berkeley
2222 Bancroft Way, Rm. 3200
Berkeley CA 94720-4300

Hours 

View our hours of operations webpage.

Students are strongly encouraged to first contact us by phone or email.

Topics

SHIP Insurance topic page

Waiving SHIP

All registered undergraduate and graduate UC Berkeley students, including international students, are automatically enrolled in the Berkeley Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) to meet the University of California’s health insurance mandate set by the UC Regents. If you have comparable health insurance that meets the SHIP waiver criteria and do not wish to have dual coverage, you can submit an online waiver application to waive enrollment in SHIP. The waiver must be filled out annually during the waiver period (July deadline for the entire upcoming academic year or January deadline for the spring semester).

SHIP Waiver for 2024-25 Academic Year

Waiver Period 

  • The Fall 2024 waiver period was from May 1, 2024 to July 15, 2024. Waivers must be received by July 15, 2024 to avoid a late fee of $75.
  • All waivers received between July 16, 2024 and August 15, 2024 are subject to a late fee of $75.
  • No waiver applications will be accepted after the final August 15, 2024 deadline.
  • Note: A new waiver application must be submitted before the start of each Fall semester during the waiver period; approved Spring semester waivers do not roll over.
  • Note for Summer 2024 special program graduate students: If you have an approved Summer 2024 waiver, you are automatically waived for the Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 semesters and do not need to apply for a Fall 2024 waiver. (Please report any insurance changes to the SHIP Office.)

Summer 2024 - Special Programs

Waiver Period is Closed

Summer Special Programs include:

1. Master of Financial Engineering - incoming March class only
2. Master of Laws (Executive Track LLM)
3. Incoming students in the following programs: 
   -Master of Public Affairs
   -Master of Arts in Teaching (BTEP & PLI)
   -Master of Real Estate Development + Design
   -Master of Urban Design
   -11-month Master of Public Health
   -Master of Biotechnology
   -Master of Computational Social Science 

Waiver Criteria & Forms

Spring 2024

Waiver Period is Closed

  • The Spring waiver period (for the Spring Semester only) was from December 1, 2023, to January 1, 2024. Waivers must be received by January 1, 2024 to avoid a late fee of $75.
  • All waivers received between January 2, 2024 and January 15, 2024 are subject to a late fee of $75. 
  • Absolutely no waiver applications are accepted after the final January 15, 2024 deadline.

Resources

Waiver Appeal

If your online waiver application was denied and you believe your insurance does meet the waiver criteria, you may submit an appeal. An appeal must be submitted within 10 business days from the denial date to be considered. You must have already completed the online waiver and received a denial to use this form.

To securely submit a SHIP waiver appeal, log onto the eTang portal with your Calnet ID and passphrase. 

  1. From the welcome page, click "MESSAGES" on the left side menu. Select "New Message".
    • Note: You may need to complete the Notice of Privacy Practice and Statement of Financial Responsibility before proceeding to "New Message". Please go to the home page and click on "Medical Clearances" on the left to complete these forms and then follow the rest of the instructions below.
  2. Under "Student Health Insurance Office (SHIO)", select "Request Student Insurance Plan (SHIP) Waiver Forms" and select "SHIP Appeal Form".
  3. Fill out the form completely and click the "Send" button.
    • Note: Appeals are processed within 30 days. If you do not receive a response within 30 days, please contact the SHIP office. You may be contacted via secure message in the eTang portal if additional documentation is needed to process your appeal. 

Waiver Reversal

If you waived SHIP enrollment for this semester and wish to reverse your waiver, please follow the instructions below. 

Log in to the eTang portal with your Calnet ID and passphrase.

  1. From the welcome page, click "MESSAGES" on the left side menu. Select "New Message".
    • Note: You may need to complete the Notice of Privacy Practice and Statement of Financial Responsibility before proceeding to "New Message". Please go to the home page and click on "Medical Clearances" on the left to complete these forms and then follow the rest of the instructions.
  2. Under "Student Health Insurance Office (SHIO)", select "Request Student Insurance Plan (SHIP) Waiver Forms" and select "SHIP Waiver REVERSAL Form".
  3. Fill out the form completely and click the "Send" button.
    • Note: If you lost coverage, you will need to upload verification from your former insurance company stating the date your coverage ended.