As the peak travel season approaches, Martin Lewis has reminded holidaymakers of his 'golden' travel rule, which he urges everyone to follow. The Money Saving Expert founder shared his advice during a recent special edition of the Money Show Live on Tuesday, April 28.
Martin stated that his "most important" tip is to take out travel insurance "as soon as you book" — a principle he shortens to four letters: 'ASAB'. Outlining his rule, Martin explained: "If you're booking a single-trip policy, then you get the insurance as soon as you book to cover a specific future date. You pay for that and, once you've paid for it, you have the travel insurance. If anything happens from that point onwards, you're covered, no problem."
Rather than waiting for something to go wrong, travellers should secure insurance the moment they book their holiday, safeguarding themselves against any issues that may arise before their travels. The level of cover varies depending on the policy chosen.
Martin emphasised that getting protected immediately — even if the trip is weeks or months away — is crucial because cover begins right away. He said: "The reason you do that is that half of the coverage you're paying for is in case something happens that stops you from going before the trip. If you don't have travel insurance, you've got no cover. So you might as well have it in place. At this time of year, when many people have already booked, I have a slight adaptation. If you've booked and you don't have it yet, just get it now."
Fellow ITV presenter Jeanette Kwakye shared a viewer's success story: a family avoided a £5,000 rescheduling fee thanks to having travel insurance. The viewer told Martin: "I booked flights to Australia for a family group of seven to travel in March next year. I took out insurance immediately. One of our group members is now pregnant and can't travel on the dates planned. It cost £5,000 to reschedule, which I'm happy to report the insurance has covered."
During the programme, Martin also warned that if a flight is cancelled and you cannot reach your hotel, you may not receive a refund for the hotel if it was booked separately. He explained: "If you booked a package holiday where you booked everything in one, then under the package holiday regulations and rules and protections generally, if your flight went, you would get everything back. At the moment, package holidays give you a certain level of extra security that you wouldn't get if you did a DIY booking where you bought your hotel and flight separately."
In other travel news, airline passengers have been told there are two days that are often "cheapest to book a flight." This depends on factors such as destination, airline, and booking platform.
