Lost your passport while abroad? No worries...

Our passport is not just a very important travel document but also a highly cherished one. On international trips, passports happen to be the only document that you need to keep close to your heart. Many countries require you to have a valid passport and recommend having a valid passport for six months post your holiday dates. There are a lot of ways to keep your passport safe while travelling. But it is a very common scenario to lose it while enjoying the exhilarating views that a global destination has to offer.

Imagine you are travelling abroad and you misplace your passport. Or it gets stolen! Losing an important document is everyone’s worst nightmare. And there is no document more important than your passport while you are travelling abroad. Without a passport, you are stuck in the country you’re in.

You can neither travel onward to the next country on your itinerary nor go back home. And replacing your passport can be a tiresome process.

Precautions to take before travelling

* First, take photocopies of your passport and visa and keep it in a place separate from where you keep your passport. You can also keep a copy of the documents on your phone. But just in case your phone is also stolen or lost along with your passport, email yourself a copy of your passport and visa before you start your journey. That way, you can log in to your email account wherever you are and print out a copy of the documents.

* Another thing that can come in handy should you lose your passport is a list of Indian consulates and embassies and their address and phone numbers in all the countries you will be visiting on your travels.

* And lastly, and most importantly, make sure you purchase a travel insurance before you travel. Nowadays, there are insurance companies that recognise the need of the hour and keeping in pace with your excitement, provide you with insurance that is not only simple to understand, but also easy to purchase at the click of a button.

How will insurance help you get a passport?

* It is very important that you choose a comprehensive package that either covers a loss of passport or a package where you can add on such a feature.

* Your travel insurance should look at including basic benefits like missed call facilities, where your insurance company doesn’t take more than 10 minutes to reach, even if you are in international waters.

* We understand losing your passport can be painful. But it is not the end of the world. The first thing to do once you realise your passport is lost or stolen is to report it to the police and request a written police report. Once you have reported your passport missing, you can use the police report to get a duplicate passport or an emergency travel document from the nearest Indian consulate or embassy.

* Contact your insurance company on the 24x7 Travel Assistant Helpline who will be able to guide you to get a temporary or emergency passport, including the address of the nearest Indian embassy or consulate. This should help you in getting the passport and completing your exciting journey happily.

(The author is appointed actuary, Digit General Insurance)

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