Unfortunately, our luggage doesn't always make it home safely. Here's what to do if this happens.
What to do
Report it to the police
- If your luggage is stolen, report it to the police within 24 hours of discovery and get a written report from them. If their protocol is not to provide written reports, then get contact details for the station you reported the theft to as well as any report/event number they provide you with.
- If your luggage is lost, you must also report it to the police within 24 hours of discovery, as it may be handed in
Report it to other appropriate authorities
- Depending on where your luggage was lost or stolen, you must report what happened to the appropriate authority and get a written report from them. Make sure you ask them to include within the report details of what compensation, if any, they will provide you.
- For example, if your luggage was lost or stolen while in the care of an airline, report it to them and they will give you a Property Irregularity Report (PIR) with all the information you need. If it was stolen from your hotel, report it to them and ask them for a written copy for confirmation.
- For delayed luggage, report it immediately to the airline or other service provider
- As soon as you realise that your luggage didn’t arrive with you, report it to the airline, airport, other carrier or other service provider straight away, and ask them for a Property Irregularity Report (PRP) confirming the delay and any compensation they will give you.
- Keep all relevant documents to support your claim
- Get a repair quote for damaged items
- If your phone or tablet was stolen or lost, call your mobile phone provider as soon as possible and ask them to block your service by blocking the IMEI. Ask them to send you written confirmation that they have done so.
- Keep all damaged items – in the event we pay a claim for these items, they will become our property.
Minimum documentation required to support your claim
Your luggage is stolen or accidentally lost
Provide a copy of the report you made to the police and other appropriate authorities
- Keep any relevant documents, including any relevant ticket, luggage check and any other documents to support your claim.
- For any mobile phone or tablet that was stolen or lost, provide us with written confirmation that your service provider has blocked the IMEI.
Provide proof of your ownership of each luggage item and its value (what you paid for it):
- Original purchase receipts
- Valuations
Your luggage and personal items are accidentally damaged
- Provide a copy of the report you made to the appropriate authorities
- Keep any relevant documents, including any relevant ticket, luggage check and any other documents to support your claim.
- Get a repair quote. You’ll need to provide a clear, detailed repair quote from an authorised repairer to document the damage to your item and to give us when you make your claim
- Keep the damaged item.
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Don’t throw away your damaged items! We may ask you to send them to us. We’ll keep any items that can’t be repaired when we pay your claim, as the property legally belongs to us at that point.
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If your suitcase or a large item that is difficult to transport home, take clear, date-stamped photos of the item as proof of the damage.
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Provide proof of your ownership of each luggage item and its value (what you paid for it):
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Original purchase receipts
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Valuations
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Your luggage and personal items are delayed
- Provide a copy of the incident report you made with the transport provider or other service provider when the delay occurred.
- Once you get your luggage back, get a receipt and written confirmation from the carrier confirming how long it was delayed. As this event doesn’t apply for delays under six hours, and the trip limit increases after 72 hours, it’s important we know the length of the delay.
- Provide receipts for any essential items (like clothing and toiletries) purchased to tide you over until your luggage arrived
- Provide proof of any compensation offered or provided by the carrier