UCLA students and faculty traveling abroad can feel more at ease with a new risk notification system offered by the Office of Insurance and Risk Management.
The alert service, included in UCLA’s Travel Security and Health Coverage benefits, is provided through cooperation with iJet, an international risk intelligence company that works with a wide variety of institutions in responding to global threats.
In case of an emergency, the service allows students to receive electronic notifications about difficulties they may encounter and to be put in contact with local iJet employees who are able to advise them, said Dean Malilay, director of the UCLA Office of Insurance and Risk Management.
This service is essential for students who encounter security issues, political unrest or medical problems, he added.
The service, which is free for students and faculty, keeps students safe and well-informed while traveling, Malilay said.
Trips planned through UC Travel, a travel management program available across the University of California system, are automatically registered with iJet, Malilay said.
However, all students and faculty can register their trips for the service.
Travelers whose trips are registered for the service can be notified if evacuation becomes necessary and can be more easily directed to medical care.
According to Malilay, notifications provided by the service are not solely related to emergencies. He also said that those registered with the service receive general information needed for travel, such as embassy information and notices of immunizations needed in a particular area.
“It’s reassuring for people on the ground to know what’s going on in the world,” said Sergio Broderick-Villa, a travel study manager for UCLA.
Broderick-Villa, who is registered to receive automatic notifications from iJet over e-mail, said that he found the notifications quite useful in monitoring world events.
“It’s a sophisticated process,” said iJet chief operating officer Marty Pfinsgraff on the company’s method of monitoring security issues.
The company’s risk monitoring system is unique in that it works with state governments, media sources and other contacts to monitor international security issues and travel conditions, Pfinsgraff said.
The company works with a mix of clients and companies, including educational institutions such as UCLA that deploy people all over the world, he said.
Those whose trips are registered with the service will receive notifications regarding political unrest, health issues and cultural violence, as well as potentially threatening weather conditions or natural disasters, Pfinsgraff said.
Once the company becomes aware of one of these issues, it is able to directly contact anyone registered with the service, he added.
Students can therefore be notified very quickly in the case of an emergency, Malilay said.
“These warnings can be issued before embassies, and consulates are able to give notifications,” he added.
Though iJet sends notifications directly to travelers, UCLA can also use the system to see where students are and to insure that they are safe, he said.
The service, which was established at UCLA last summer, gives students and faculty “benefits that weren’t previously available,” Malilay said.
“It’s a great step forward for the UC system,” Pfinsgraff said.