All You Need to Know About Travel Insurance Passport Loss Cover

What Happens When You Lose Your Passport?

Your passport is the most important document whenever you travel to another country. It is your identity, it is essential to book your flights, hotels and other important bookings abroad. It is also your first ticket of entry into a foreign place and immigration laws require you to have it at times.

Losing your passport when you're abroad means a lot more than financial repercussions. Some of these are discussed below:

• If your passport is lost before your trip begins, then it may hamper your travel plans. If you don't have sufficient time to get a new one issued, you may have to cancel your travel plans. This also means financial loss of all the pre-bookings.
• If your passport is lost or stolen abroad, you will need to inform the local authorities and undergo one or more investigations before they issue you ane emergency travel certificate/documents.
• You may be sent back to India incase you can't justify losing your passport abroad. It means your trip will be cut short and you will need to bear extra expenses for an earlier flight, possible detour and more.

Another thing to note is that when you apply for a re-issued passport in India, you will need to pay a higher passport fee depending on the reason. Those applying for a re-issue under the ‘Validity Expired/Due to Expire' reason have to pay only INR 1,500 for the 36 pages booklet under the normal scheme. However, for those applying under the ‘Lost/Damaged Passport' reason must pay INR 3,000 for the new passport.

What to Do in case of Passport Loss or Theft?

Losing your passport is definitely not a pleasant experience; it can cause unexpected change in plans along with several financial burdens. If you're ever in such a situation, make sure to keep the following tips in mind:

• As soon as you realise that your passport is missing, report to the local authorities.
• Always carry some photocopies of your passport while travelling abroad as they can be helpful in the procedure
• Contact your insurer and inform them about the situation. This should be done as soon as possible as you can get clarity and support required to handle the situation. Most insurers offer a helpline number and provide assistance for these scenarios.
• Reach out to the Indian consulate or Embassy closest to you. You will easily find the emergency helpline dedicated to Indian nationals in distress.

Once you reach out to the Indian embassy and go through the formality, you will be issued an emergency certificate to help you return to India. Upon your return, you can apply for a re-issue passport.

What Does Passport Cover Do for You?

Loss of documents, loss of passport or passport theft cover reimburses you for the cost of getting a new passport. However, many insurers offer some additional benefits such as lost and found passport services.

Some insurers only provide coverage for passport loss, whereas many travel insurance plans in India offer coverage for loss of other documents. These commonly include international driving license, passport and a temporary permit.

How Can You Claim for Passport Loss under Your Travel Insurance?

As a traveller who has lost their passport abroad, you can file a claim within 30 days upon returning from your trip. However, it is strongly recommended that you inform your trip insurer about the situation so that they can guide you along the claim process. After informing the police, you must inform your insurer and ensure that you have all these documents ready:

• Original police report (FIR)
• Original receipts of all the bills and complaint copies, etc.
• Completed claim form
• Personal ID proof
• Copy of your travel insurance policy

Which Travel Insurance Provides Lost Passport Coverage?

Almost every travel insurance provider in India has a plan or plan variant that offers passport loss coverage. However, it is good if you go through the plan details carefully so that you know about its exact coverage. There are several basic plans providing coverage only for medical emergencies, accidental death & disability and repatriation. Such plans may not offer other benefits like passport cover or documents loss.

The great news is that most Indian travel insurers provide coverage for passport theft or loss. However, you must understand that this benefit is available only if your passport is not stolen or lost because of any negligence on your part. If you lost your passport due to your own negligence then most insurers will reject your claim.

If you're not sure whether your choice of insurer offers passport coverage, you can simply compare your options on policybazaar.com by filtering out plans without this benefit.

In a Nutshell,

We know there's so much more to a trip than to consider all that could go wrong, but this is exactly why you can't be careless about insuring your journey. Be it a short or a long stay, risks are always unanticipated.

What's more, losing your passport is among the least financially draining ones. Medical emergencies like an accident abroad or accidentally becoming liable to a third party can seriously cost you. So make sure you only go for the right travel insurance whenever you venture abroad.