As a successful family, your unique lifestyle can create unique challenges while traveling around the world. Consider the following to help keep you, your family and your belongings safe while you are away.
Your home may be well-equipped to ward off potential cyber and identity theft risks, but traveling can create weak spots in the defenses that protect your data. Mi-Fi (personal mobile Wi-Fi devices provided by your mobile phone service company) and personal VPN services (data encryption software installed on your device, such as Cloak for Macs or Tunnelbear for PCs) can both produce much safer connections than public Wi-Fi networks can. Remote wipe technology (such as Find My iPhone), which can mitigate unauthorized access to information on a stolen device by deleting the data stored on it, should also be installed on all the devices you're bringing along.
Finally, consider storing your credit cards, passport, driver's license and other contents of your wallet in RFID blocking sleeves. These will protect your information from being obtained by a thief using RFID scanning technology.
To learn more about cyber-safe travel, click here.
If possible, it's often best to leave expensive jewelry and other possessions at home. If you must bring it, however, hold your hotel room's safe to very high standards. Your home safe should be hundreds of pounds, made of steel and bolted into the frame of the building, and you hotel safe should be, too. If you are uncomfortable with your room's safe for any reason, request that your possessions be stored in the hotel's master safe.
When traveling abroad, you often put your safety in someone else's hands. Whether it's a hired driver located at your destination or your own domestic staff who will travel with you, be sure that all parties are background checked by you or their employer. Contact a PURE Member Advocate® to learn more about the background check services offered by PURE.
One of the riskiest aspects of international travel, especially if you are visiting a remote destination or a country with developing infrastructure, is the complex logistics that medical care can require. When traveling abroad, it can be difficult to obtain access to your medical records, transportation to a high-quality hospital or other treatment requirements in an emergency situation.
At the very least, be sure that you check with the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) for updates regarding the latest health precautions and recommendations for the area to which you are traveling. You may also want a letter from your doctor regarding any medications that you'll be bringing along and look into what medical services your health insurance will cover while overseas. You can learn more about these topics via the U.S. government's website.
More comprehensive medical service solutions for travelers are available, such as those offered by WorldClinic which include direct access to certified on-call physicians, prescription medication for immediate and even emergency treatment, and emergency medical evacuation planning and execution should you need to quickly and safely return to the U.S. for treatment.
In addition to taking your safety into consideration as you travel, it's important to ensure your belongings back home are secure. Once a trusted caretaker has been selected, establish the frequency of their visits and outline what is expected of them. PURE recommends you have a caretaker check on your home at least once a day during mild weather and at least two times a day during colder months. Provide your caretaker with a list of vendors and emergency contacts whom you would like to respond in the event of a loss while you are away and empower them to take action in your absence.
PURE members needing assistance with any of the protection measures discussed above can contact a PURE Member Advocate® at memberadvocate@pureinsurance.com or 888.813.7873.
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