Waiving SHIP

Contact us

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

Insurance topic page

The Spring 2024 Waiver Period is Now Open

The deadline to waive SHIP without a late fee is January 1, 2024.

Waiver Period

The Spring 2024 waiver period is 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.

Waiver Exclusion

Students in the Master of Information and Data Science (MIDS) program are not eligible for SHIP, except for 5th year MIDS students who may keep or waive enrollment during the fall or spring waiver period.

Criteria and Forms

Summer 2023 - 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
          ~Principle Leadership Institue
          ~Berkeley Teacher Education Program
          ~Leaders for Equity and Democracy
   -Master of Real Estate Development + Design
   -Master of Urban Design
   -11-month Master of Public Health

Resources

Fall 2023

Waiver Period is Closed

The Fall 2023 waiver period was May 1, 2023 to July 17, 2023. Waivers must be received by July 17, 2023 to avoid a late fee of $75

All waivers received between July 18, 2023 and August 15, 2023 are subject to a late fee of $75.

No waiver applications are accepted after the August 15, 2023 deadline.

Note: A new waiver application must be submitted for each Fall semester; approved waivers from previous semesters do not roll over

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 in order 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 before proceeding to "New Message". Please go to the home page and click on "Medical Clearances" on the left to complete this form 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 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. Please note, that 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 before proceeding to "New Message". Please go to the home page and click on "Medical Clearances" on the left to complete this form 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: You may be asked for verification from your former insurance company stating the date your coverage ended.