Money-saving guru Martin Lewis appeared on Good Morning Britain and pleaded for you to buy your travel insurance the moment you’ve booked your trip…
Martin Lewis on GMB
In his segment on the show, Lewis explained:
“January is the biggest holiday booking month, and if you’ve just booked yours, make sure you’ve sorted your travel insurance out too.
“You need cover from the moment you go, yet far too many people book a holiday and then leave the cover until later.”
The benefits of buying early
Travel Insurance can cover everything from lost luggage to unexpected medical emergencies while you’re on holiday but it also protects you and your money if something happens that means you have to cancel. This could include:
- Illness or injury of you, a travel partner or someone in your immediate family
- An unexpected death in your immediate family
- Being called up for jury service
- Your redundancy or the redundancy of someone in your travel party
You are covered for all these scenarios from the moment you buy your policy, so the sooner the better – leaving travel insurance until the last minute could result in major financial losses if any of the above should happen.
Lewis added:
“Sadly too often I hear stories like ‘I’ve just been diagnosed with cancer, I was due to go on holiday in six weeks, but now need chemo.
The airline won’t refund my ticket, what can I do?’
The unfortunate answer is not a lot. You’re only covered for cancellation if you have insurance BEFORE an illness/injury, job loss, jury service call-up etc.
If you leave booking too late, you risk not being able to get it all or you’re likely to pay a much higher premium if you buy it after you’ve set off and you will have limited choices.
It’s common sense to protect your holiday, yourself and your family. Ensuring that you have good insurance in place straight away puts your mind at ease and covers you against uncertainty.
So whether going away sooner or later this year, buy ASAB (as soon as you’ve booked).
There are many cheap, decent value policies available online and via comparison sites from as little as £9 for a no-frills year’s European cover for an individual…
If you go away two or more times a year, then annual policies usually win.”
Tips for Getting Cover for Pre-Existing Conditions
One of the most important elements of travel insurance for many holidaymakers is cover for pre-existing conditions. This covers you for any costs associated with any medical condition you may have, or have had in the past.
On his website, Lewis offers tips for getting cover for pre-existing conditions, including:
- Buy ‘ASAB’ to cover cancellations due to pre-trip illnesses
- Declare all your medical conditions to make sure you don’t void your policy
- Read the details to make sure the policy is right for you
- Don’t forget your EHIC if you’re travelling to Europe (this is likely to change following Brexit)
- You’ll likely need an add-on to the policy or specialist cover if you’re going on a cruise.
Martin Lewis mentions AllClear for specialist Medical Cover
Money Saving Expert mentions AllClear as a Travel Insurance provider for pre-existing medical conditions.
Join over 3 million holidaymakers who trust AllClear!
