Can Travel Insurance Help With a Lost or Stolen Passport?

No one wants to have a “my passport has been stolen” moment on their travels, but it can happen. Luckily, your World Nomads travel insurance plan provides coverage for the theft, damage to a passport or loss, provided you’ve taken reasonable care to safeguard your documents when travelling.

What can I make a claim for?

You can make a claim for the cost of a replacement document if your passport is stolen, lost by a common carrier, or accidentally damaged.

If you need to cancel or rearrange your trip due to your passport being stolen, lost or accidentally damaged you may be able to claim, up to policy limits, for:

  • Any pre-paid, non-refundable transport, accommodation or activity expenses
  • Reasonable and necessary additional transport and accommodation expenses, including phone calls and internet costs to contact our Emergency Assistance, claims or service teams. Contact our 24/7 Emergency Assistance Team, who can advise you on how to obtain a replacement document, get emergency cash and any other part of the process.

Note: a NZ$100 excess is payable per event

What do I do if my passport is lost, stolen or damaged?

Report the loss, theft or damage of your passport immediately or as soon as you can to:

What do I need to make a claim?

  • Reports from local police, common carriers, service providers and any other relevant parties
  • Receipts for passport processing fees
  • Copies of all documentation provided by the New Zealand Government
  • Receipts for pre-paid, non-refundable accommodations and any additional expenses incurred, should it apply to your case.
  • You can make a claim online from anywhere in the world.

What’s not covered?

Travel insurance isn’t designed to cover everything and there are some things we can’t cover, including, but not limited to:

  • If you hold multiple passports, we’ll only pay to replace one of them
  • A loss arising from misplacing your passport, forgetting it or leaving it behind
  • If your passport is left unsupervised, in public view or where you don’t take adequate and reasonable care to protect its safety
  • Loss, theft of or damage where travel documents are stored with a storage facility, concierge or other service provider and they go missing, held for transport in the cargo hold, luggage trailer or on the roof, or left in a vehicle, boat, tent or camper trailer for any length of time.

Check out our What’s Covered guide for more information on stolen passports.

If you have any questions, please reach out – we’re happy to help. And when you’re ready, you can get a quote and buy online 24/7.

This is only a summary of coverage and does not include the full terms, conditions, limitations and exclusions of the policy. You should read your Policy Document in full, so you understand what is and isn’t covered. That way there won’t be any surprises if you need to use it. If you have any questions, please get in touch.

The information provided is of a general nature and is provided for information purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice in any form and should not be relied on as a substitute for obtaining professional advice that is specific to your circumstances. You should seek advice from a financial advice provider if you would like further information about whether a particular product is appropriate for you and your circumstances.


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We’re here to help if you have a question about travel insurance. We’re available:

  • Monday to Friday 11:00am - 8:00pm (NZST/NZDT)
  • Saturday to Sunday closed (NZST/NZDT)

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Within New Zealand:
0800 666 237

From anywhere in the world:
+61 2 8256 1542

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1300 787 375