Travel: precautions to not lose everything

Loss or theft of baggage, there are precautions to be taken before going to not lose everything. Here is the simplest and most effective.

Last year in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Madeleine Lauzier sipping a drink on a terrace in the Plaza Dorrego. She looked at the pictures she had taken. To be more at ease, she filed her handbag at her feet. "In less than 30 seconds, a thief has pinched my nose and my beard. I was in shock! "Ms. Lauzier has been wronged as a beginner. Certainly her purse did not contain much, but the thief was still able to find a credit card and travelers checks.
Keeping his composure, she went immediately to his hotel room, where she started looking for international phone numbers of the issuers of its credit card and its travelers checks. Fortunately, she had enrolled in a small notebook before departure. Within minutes, she was able to cancel these documents. It is made new issue we have delivered three days later at her hotel. "Now, money, credit cards and travelers checks, I will keep them on me!" Promises our traveler.
"It seems elementary, but we must remember: it's before going you have to take precautions," says Nicole David, branch manager at Club Voyages Berri in Montreal. What precautions? Here is the simplest and most effective.

1. Photocopy your passport and credit cards.

If lost or stolen, you will have the basic information that will accelerate the production of new documents. "Put these photocopies obviously elsewhere than where you keep your originals. Otherwise, you risk losing both, "said the expert. On the spot, when you go on walk or shipping, drop your passport in the safe of the hotel or your bedroom, and then make a copy of it with you.

2. Note the international phone numbers.

On the back of a business card that you slip into your wallet, enter the phone numbers at no cost issuers of your credit cards and traveler's checks, and most importantly, the help desk Travel your insurance company. Test them before leaving. You can also send a Hotmail or Gmail email in which you will have noticed all these details, along with the email address from your travel agent. Wherever you are on the planet, you can retrieve this information through the Internet.

3. Check if the Canadian government maintains a presence wherever you go.

You travel to a destination uncrowded? Check if Canada has a consulate or a business office: www.international. gc.ca. Through its agencies, the Government of Canada is obliged to help you abroad if you have problems. For example, it is he who is to replace a stolen passport, lost, damaged or expired (plan costs). It must also provide you with a list of doctors and hospitals in the area where you are, and offer advice and contact the police and medical services in the area if you are a victim of theft, sexual assault or other acts of violence.
"If you need emergency financial assistance, the Government of Canada offices can you transfer funds," adds Nicole David. Certainly you have to pay back on your return to the country, but at least you will have been repaired.
According to The Rough Guide, "Your embassy will not much for you. However, your consulate can probably give you a hand. "
Visit countries where Canada has no official presence? Note whether another Member State of the Commonwealth is an embassy, ​​consulate or a business office. In Burma, for example, the Australian Embassy will lend you assistance.

Lost luggage

It may happen that the airline luggage wanders between two switches. If this happens, immediately report the incident to your luggage carrier or airport. Contact the staff of the airline, which in some cases will pay buying necessities. The carrier should return your luggage and deliver them to your hotel.

Theft of luggage

But if, unfortunately, thieves bite your luggage, how should you react?
- If you are on vacation in an "all inclusive". Notify immediately the representative of the tour operator. "He lives in the country where you are, know how to react and probably has contacts with the Canadian Consulate," says David.
- If you travel without any intermediary. Appointment as soon as possible in a police station and report the theft. Indeed, your insurer will compensate you if you file a police report. If you do not understand the language, ask a police officer who speaks English or French to translate your document before it was printed. Verify that this is your version of the facts contained and no detail has been omitted there. If items are missing from the report, you will have great difficulty to reach full compensation from your insurer.
Finally, start the procedures to apply for a replacement passport. You will need to demonstrate that you are a Canadian citizen, hence the importance of having minimally a photocopy of your passport.
If your insurance does not cover your luggage abroad, you can add a rider to that effect. You are a victim of theft? Your insurer can then compensate you, but upon presentation of a police report. So you must get this precious document as soon as possible. Normally, the settlement of claims is carried out in return journey.

How to make a claim

• As soon as you become aware of the loss of your property, call the helpline your travel insurer to share the problem. "The representative will help you gather the necessary information for your claim to be complete," says François Morel, business development advisor at Desjardins Financial Security.
• Wait for authorization from the insurer before buying personal effects to continue your journey. Please keep all your bills to get a refund.
• Do you confirm the procedure. For example, do you need to fax the police report on the spot or can you do when you return?
• Remember that insurers do not offer protection against theft of cash.

Finally, if you bring your cell phone, smart or otherwise, be especially careful. "These appliances and all electronic devices are popular targets for thieves," warns David Nicole.