Martin Lewis has issued a stark warning to anyone who has already booked a summer holiday with major companies such as TUI, Jet2, Ryanair, Wizz, easyJet and British Airways. Appearing on his ITV show, the personal finance expert urged travellers to take out travel insurance immediately after booking, or risk losing everything if plans go wrong.
Mr Lewis stressed that insurance should be purchased the moment a holiday is booked, as half the cover is for events that stop you travelling before the trip. He said: “If you’ve booked and you don’t have it yet, just get it now. Get it done as soon as possible.” He cited a viewer whose insurance covered £5,000 in rescheduling costs after a group member became pregnant.
For larger groups, Mr Lewis advised taking out a group insurance policy so that if one person cannot travel, the whole group is covered. He noted that individual policies only cover the person who cannot go, not the entire party.
On the issue of cancelled flights due to jet fuel shortages, Mr Lewis clarified that DIY bookings – where flights and accommodation are booked separately – are not protected under consumer regulations. He said: “If you booked a package holiday where you booked everything in one, then under the package holiday regulations you would get everything back. But if you lose your flight and you’ve DIY booked, there’s nothing wrong with your hotel. Your hotel is still there. It’s not faulty. So you don’t have those consumer rights.”
Mr Lewis warned that credit or debit card protection would not apply as there is no faulty product. He added that only a few travel insurance policies cover the knock-on cost of a cancelled flight due to jet fuel, leaving most DIY bookers at significant risk.
