Martin Lewis issues warning for anyone booking holiday after woman loses £5,000

31 January 2024 , 14:27

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Martin Lewis is the founder of MoneySavingExpert.com (Image: ITV)

Martin Lewis has issued an urgent holiday warning after one woman revealed she lost £5,000 after not booking travel insurance.

The MoneySavingExpert.com founder explained how travel insurance doesn’t just cover you when you’re away - but also if something happens before you go on holiday. Speaking during his latest Martin Lewis Money Show Live broadcast last night on ITV, Martin urged people to take out cover “as soon as you book” a trip away.

Martin told his viewers: "You must get your travel insurance ASAB - as soon as you book. If you've already booked and you don't have it - now. The reason for that is simple." Martin then heard from a viewer called Cocoa, who explained she was advised not to travel due to a high risk pregnancy. The holiday she booked had cost £5,000 and she didn't have travel insurance.

In a message read out on the show, she said: “I was planning a holiday but was then advised that I was not safe to fly due to high risk pregnancy. The holiday was already paid for but I hadn’t taken out travel insurance. I was told that I’ve lost the £5,000 that I had paid for the holiday.”

Martin then added: "Now let me tell you every year I get people who have been diagnosed with cancer and are having chemotherapy or terminal cancer, I've had people who've been paralysed, and they get in touch with me and they say 'I can't go on my holiday, what do I do?

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"And they say, I don't have travel insurance, can I cancel? Well look, unless you've got flexible booking, I'm going to say something that sounds very trite but I just want you to understand. You can't expect the hotel or the flight company to give you your money back.

"If you bought a tennis racket and you broke your arm you can't say the tennis racquet is faulty. The tennis racquet is still working. The flight is still available, the hotel is still available, they're not going to give you your money back, that's why we have travel insurance, to cover us not just for when we're on holiday but in case something happens that stops us going on holiday. Otherwise you get stuck like that. Please, ASAB."

Use comparison website such as Compare the Market or MoneySuperMarket to check the latest prices for travel insurance. You'll need to enter details about yourself, such as your age, as well as information about your trip, including where you're going and for how long. Depending on the type of cover you've got, you may be able to claim on anything from medical expenses to your luggage going missing.

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