Useful tips to help travel safely while keeping the stress levels down

Here are some tips from Chubb for when travelling for business. We would recommend taking this advice so your trip is made easy and importantly, safe.

• As part of your pre-travel preparations, do some research on your destination. Find out how the subway works and the take a note of the most reputable taxi firms. If you can, ask local colleagues to recommend the best forms of public and private transport and try to pre-book where possible.

• If walking is a safe option, make sure you familiarise yourself with the route before setting out. This way you won’t need to rely on your smartphone for navigation, making you less of a target for thieves.

• When renting a car, select a well-known company with a good reputation. Ask for recommendations from local colleagues if you’re unsure and always use your company’s preferred partners if programmes are in place.

• Where possible, pre-arrange transfers from airports and stations and use reputable firms or company partners. Choosing an airport taxi at the rank often means higher fares, especially if you are unfamiliar with the route.

• It’s not always possible to pre-arrange transport and in those instances using a reputable app-based taxi is worth doing. This way you should receive a pre-agreed fare and information about the driver, car and contact point is provided at the booking stage. This information makes for a smoother pick up and journey, while making it easier to recover any items inadvertently left in the vehicle.

• If used carefully and sensibly, apps like Google Maps can be useful tools to navigate an unfamiliar city. Be sure to keep usage to a minimum and look for quiet spaces to review your route without having your smartphone on show. The translation services provided by some of these platforms can also be a great help when it comes to reading street names or subway stops.