'Hugely important' warning issued by Martin Lewis that affects millions

Martin Lewis has issued a 'crucial warning' to anyone planning to book a holiday this year, or who has already booked one. The MoneySavingExpert.com founder shared the alert on his new Travel Insurance and Life Lessons episode of the Martin Lewis Podcast on BBC Sounds.

He subsequently posted a clip of the episode to his X account, with the caption: "Crucial warning if you've booked or are booking a holiday abroad. Get travel insurance ASAB." Martin explains that ASAB stands for 'as soon as possible after booking.

People living in the UK took about 94.6 million trips to other countries in 2024, which is a big jump from 86.2 million trips in 2023, based on information from the Office for National Statistics. Data also reveals that 59% of UK residents went on a holiday outside the country in the last year, with many choosing to travel overseas - showing millions in the UK book holidays abroad every year.

Securing travel insurance is a major part of booking a holiday. It frequently covers issues that arise before you travel, such as illnesses, redundancy, jury duty, so purchasing late can leave you uninsured for those pre-departure incidents. Martin advises buying single-trip policies now and setting the cover dates to align with your trip.

He said: "If you've booked or are booking a holiday, a hugely important warning for you. Make sure you get your travel insurance ASAB, as soon as you've booked. And if you've already booked, that means just do it now. Just get it as quickly as possible. Because half the point of travel insurance is covering you for things that may happen before you go that stop you going."

"And if you leave it until the last minute to get your travel insurance and something happens, well, you won't be covered. So what does having it in place ASAB mean? Well, if it's a single-trip policy, it's really easy. You, let's say you're going away August 1 to August 8, you get a single-trip policy now from August 1-8. You give those cover dates, you pay for it now, you've got your policy in place."

For annual or multi-trip policies, he emphasises the need to ensure the policy is active from today (or continuous) so that any incident now is covered. Martin also advises people against purchasing one that only commences later on.

He explained: "If it's an annual policy that covers all your trips away in the year, you want to always have a live annual policy. So if you don't have an annual policy, you get one now, but you need to have the start date be today. You don't leave it until August 1 and try and book it in advance."

Martin also highlights that if your existing annual policy expires before your trip, purchase a new one to begin immediately after the previous one ends to prevent any gaps. Many annual policies can only be bought up to approximately 90 days in advance, and policy wordings differ, so it's essential to review terms and exclusions.

Martin explained: "If you already have a policy and that is in place until the end of your holiday, you're fine. But if your current annual policy stops before your holiday date, let's say it stops in April and you're going on holiday in August, you will want to get a new policy that starts the day after your old policy ends. So you have continuous cover going all the way through.

"Now you can generally only get annual policies up to 90 days in advance. So if something were to happen now for a holiday in August for a cover that ends in April, most, not all, annual travel policies will cover you even though the holiday is after their end date, if the incident happens now, which stops you from getting it. But as soon as you can, you get cover that butts up against it."

Why is travel insurance vital, and what protection does it offer?

Travel insurance is essential because it shields you from significant, unforeseen financial burdens whilst you're away. This encompasses costly medical expenses if you fall ill or sustain an injury abroad, needing to cancel your journey, and managing lost or stolen baggage.

It ensures you can access emergency medical assistance and even be repatriated home if necessary. This provides peace of mind should something unfortunate occur, such as an accident or illness.

Additionally, it offers protection if your trip gets disrupted or if you misplace your belongings. The extent of your coverage largely hinges on which travel insurance policy you purchase, but most will include:

• Medical emergencies
• Trip cancellation
• Trip interruption/curtailment
• Baggage and personal belongings
• Personal money and documents
• Missed departure
• Personal liability

Always consult your policy document to check the limits, exclusions (such as dangerous activities or pre-existing conditions), and regulations. You must declare these; failure to do so could render your cover void. For individuals residing in the UK, a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) is separate and does not replace travel insurance.