Anyone who has ever embarked on an international voyage knows that traveling the world is not all fun and games. A vacation to an exotic location can be refreshing and even exciting, but it also requires some common sense and responsibility. If you plan on traveling across national borders, you’ll have to take several vital documents along with you: your passport, any additional visa or residency papers required by your destination country or countries and, of course, your travel insurance documents.
The importance of keeping your travel insurance documents secure
Travel insurance coverage is very important to have when visiting other countries. Your regular insurance policies may not cover accidents or mishaps suffered while outside of your home country. Buying a travel insurance policy is only half of the work, however: you also have to remember to keep your insurance paperwork safe and secure at all times while on your trip. Your insurance certificate outlines the terms and conditions of your policy, its inclusions and exclusions, the contact information of the company that issued the policy, and other information that will be vitally important to have in case of accident. Therefore, it is absolutely key to how to keep your travel insurance documents organized on the road in order to ensure a safe journey.
Where to keep your travel insurance documents while traveling
Theft and loss of baggage and documents are constant threats that every traveler must keep in mind. Many travelers opt to keep their travel documents in their baggage, but this can be risky, because bags often present tempting targets for thieves. Keeping your policy documents in an outer compartment of your baggage is even more dangerous, especially if you plan to use a rolling bag or a backpack while traveling. Wallets, passports and other documents are easily scooped out of these compartments, which are often kept behind the traveler and out of sight. Instead, keep your travel insurance policy and other important documents in an internal pocket or inside a bag that you can secure with your arm. This should keep your policy safe from pickpockets.
Not every lost travel document is the result of theft, however. Sometimes, travelers simply misplace documents or unwittingly leave them behind in unsecure places. To ensure that you can access your travel insurance policy at any time, keep it in a well-organized place. A purse or messenger bag with several compartments is perfectly designed for this purpose.
Make a digital backup of your insurance documents
Despite all of your caution, you still might happen to lose or misplace a physical copy of your travel insurance policy. To protect against this, you might want to back up your insurance documents onto a USB flash drive or a laptop. Keeping both digital and physical copies of your insurance documents will ensure that you have them if or when you need them. If you choose to keep copies of your important documents on your laptop, remember to keep it secured with a password while you travel – files can be just as easily swiped from a laptop as from a bag.
Author bio: Guest post contributed by Victoria, for Covermore.com.au. – Travel Insurance providers. Click here for more information.