28,783 British passports lost or damaged abroad last year

According to figures from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) thousands of Brits have to pay up to £200 every month for emergency travel documents after losing or damaging their passports.

The FCO issued 28,783 emergency travel documents last year to British holiday makers whose passports had been lost, stolen or damaged.

They are encouraging holidaymakers to take better care of their passports as what they term ‘avoidable' cases of passport loss or damage are on the rise. In fact emergency travel documents issued due to expired or damaged passports has increased by over 300% in the last year.

If you do need to obtain emergency travel documents you will be wasting your precious holiday time as well as your money. It can take several days to get the documentation finalised; you may need to get a police report, replacement visas and travel to and from another town or city if the nearest British Embassy is not nearby.

Whilst travel insurance can help you cover the expense of obtaining replacement travel documentation, but nothing can replace the lost hours or days of your holiday.

It's much better look after your passport whilst you are away and make sure you check it's validity well before they travel.

How to take care of your passport:

• Take care of your passport, treat it as you would a valuable item
• Lock your passport in a safe if you can, it is not always safer on your person.
• Make two photocopies of your passport - leave one with friends or family and take the second with you, or store it online using a secure data storage site
• Where possible, use this photocopy as alternative ID, for example when going out at night
• Make sure your passport is valid for the entire duration of your holiday
• Some countries require that your passport be valid for 6 months after the date you return home.

Travel insurance from insurewithease.com provides cover for lost or stolen passports up to £200 per person on Silver and Gold policies and £250 per person on Platinum policies.

For more information on what to do if your passport is lost, stolen or damaged read our guide: Lost and stolen passports.

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