With travel insurance you can buy your peace of mind. Travel mishaps can happen, and you may get caught off guard. Travel with peace of mind and security to avoid the unexpected. Everyone hopes that their trip goes smoothly, sometimes that isn’t always the case. From skiing accidents in Vancouver to insect bites in Indonesia, travel insurance can help protect you from the unexpected. We highly recommend purchasing travel insurance with your tickets. Depending on your policy, it covers you for lost passport, lost or damaged luggage, flight cancellations, accommodation re- imbursements and much more. Talk to one of our helpful team and we can point you in the right direction to purchase the travel insurance that matches your needs the best.

• Your trip of a lifetime could end up costing a fortune and it could be sometimes scary if you or your love ones needs hospital care while away from home. Many travel insurance policies covers your overseas hospital expenses while you can concentrate on caring.

• Travelling with pre-existing conditions can sometimes get tricky. Some premium policies do cover you for pre-existing conditions as well in case you need medical assistance while offshore.
• Travelling on cruise? Did you know any injuries or accidents happening on cruise are no  covered by ACC? If you have travel insurance, policies to cover costs to transport you home and medical expenses related to the injury.
• Are you a frequent flyer? There are insurance providers who provide annual multi policy  discounts. If you are travel savvy and you need to travel frequently, such policies cover you
for all your trip year round, how good is that?
Travelling somewhere for the first time?
Travelling somewhere new can bring excitement to one’s mind but it is very important to know where you are going, to be vigilant of the surroundings and to be able to identify the ref flags when they show themselves when at a new place. It is very easy to get caught up in the thrill and forget about the safety while you are offshore. Follow the below tips to make your trip memorable for all the right reasons:
• Research, intense research: It is very important to get to know a place online before you land there firsthand. Read reviews, consult locals if you happen to know any, visit their
government websites for travel alerts etc so you know what kind of environment you are visiting and you can prepare yourself accordingly.

• When is Rome, do as Romans do: This saying simply means don’t draw attention. When you don’t look like locals, you automatically become more vulnerable to local crimes and scams. Try to blend and dress as closely like locals that you can. Clothing protectively makes you less exposed to pick pocketers.

Guard your passports: When you are not in your home country, the passport becomes the most valuable piece of document. Our advice in line with all government advisories says you should always keep your passport with you when travelling abroad. Passports must be stored protectively in a waterproof bag and away from direct visibility and should be in a
secure pocket of your bag. No one wants to get stuck in the long and daunting process of passport replacement process while overseas.

• Travelling solo? Whether you are travelling solo or with your friends and family, it is very important for you keep your whereabouts known to someone back home, in cases of
emergency, in an unforeseen circumstances, it can be really helpful tool to locate you in case of communication breakdown.

• Staying at hotels? Sweep through: When staying at hotel, one should always be vigilant of the surroundings. 1st tip is to always book a hotel in a well populated area of the city rather than a secluded corner. 2nd always read reviews of the hotel beforehand on multiple sights.

3rd When checking into your room, leave the door open and accessible. Sweep through the whole room including the bath and wardrobes before you check in your luggage and get
comfortable. Always lock your hotel doors.

Visa, immigration and customs When travelling abroad, its always important to find out what kind of visa will you be required to obtain before booking your travel. Many countries allow visa free entry to citizens of different counties, many countries also allow on arrival visa at the airports. It is the traveler’s responsibility to find correct information and obtain correct visa to the country of travel.
• All countries require your passport to be valid for at least 6 months from the date of your travel commencing to grant you visa or entry to their country. It is the traveler’s
responsibility to check the passport validity and renew the passport before travelling if required. Clearing immigration and customs can be a daunting process sometimes when you are already tired from the journey. Make sure you check the immigration and custom rules of the country you are travelling to make sure you are not carrying any illegal substance with you. Some items may be legal in your country but it may be illegal in the other country, it is very important to check and ensure all items in your luggage is legal.
Biosecurity is a big and important step when travelling to many pacific and western countries. Make sure you have information about what you can and cannot bring into the country. This includes cooked, uncooked food, dairy products, meat, fisheries, and animal products and byproducts etc.
Some countries have the right to refuse you entry into their country if you fail to declare any such items. You may also be subject to hefty fines in many cases.

Travel Money
Carrying local currency is the most convenient way to finance yourself while in any country, but sometimes due to currency denominations, it can get hard to carry cash value. There are many visa and master card options that can provide you access to 100s of currency options for wherever in the world that you may be travelling. These credit cards are acceptable in most part of the world which saves you from carrying cash currency. Although, there are countries which are yet to touch the digitization, and most local shops still only accepts cash as a form of payment. For such instances, it is always advisable you to carry at least some amount of local currency that get you through the day.
• Avoid exchanging currency from dodgy looking local exchange shops and always rely on well-known and trusted sources
• Do not use your credit cards with dodgy retailers. They may be saving and sharing your card details.
• Always carry enough local cash that if in emergency, you can catch a ride back to your hotel/stay