4 ways to protect your possessions whilst on the road
These days we leave the house with so many valuable possessions, including laptop, smartphone, tablet, smartwatch, jewellery, bicycle, sunglasses, photographic equipment, musical instruments and handbags, just to name a few. Here a few handy tips to make sure you are protected:
Hot tip! One of the unknown perks of CHU Contents Insurance for Strata (Premier Cover) is that you are automatically covered for the loss and accidental damage of your belongings not only at home but also in transit, travelling within Australia and worldwide (for up to 90 days)*. Here are a few scenarios where things can and do go wrong:
- Your smartphone is stolen from your pocket at a music festival
- You leave your laptop on the train travelling home from work
- The padlock securing your bike is broken and the bike stolen
- You drop your DSLR camera whilst travelling
- You leave your expensive sunnies in a restaurant whilst travelling and when you return they are gone
*NB Terms and conditions apply, including different product levels and an excess payable, so make sure you read the PDS for full conditions.
2. Keep records – you never know when they will come in handy
- Take a photo of your belongings and receipts at time of purchase just in case you need to lodge a police report or make an insurance claim one day
- When you head off travelling take a photo of all of your items before you pack them in your bag and once inside your bag – this is a quick and easy way to make sure you return home with what you left with
3. Invest in the right gear
It is always worthwhile investing in the right gear to help safeguard your belongings whilst on the road. Here are a few ideas:
- Backpacks that lock, are made from slash-proof material, have sturdy zippers and have RFID protection (stops thieves electronically stealing money through your bag or wallet)
- Use hotel safes
- Wear a money belt whilst travelling
4. Do backups and implement safeguards
Other than the loss of your physical belongings, losing data stored on them can be even more heartbreaking. Here are some ways to protect your precious data:
- Where possible, implement two-factor authentication on your accounts, like your email, bank account, social profiles, etc. That way, if someone steals your password, they can’t access your data.
- Do regular backups and use apps which do automatic backups e.g. Google Photos will automatically backup your photos from your smartphone.
- Put strong passcodes and lock codes on every device you leave the house with
- Make digital and physical copies of all of your important documents like credit cards passport, driver’s license. This will make it much easier to cancel and replace them.
