Martin Lewis has issued warnings to anyone booking a holiday this year.
The Money Saving Expert was speaking on ITV’s The Martin Lewis Money Show Live when he issued the warnings to people thinking of booking a summer getaway.
Following both warnings will help you in the case of medical issues, with the first warning involving booking travel insurance as soon as possible.
Martin warned holiday goers to get travel insurance ASAB, as soon as you book.
He said: “Every spring I get one or more emails or contacts from someone who says something like: ‘I have just been diagnosed with a very serious from or cancer of another equally serious illness. I have booked my summer holiday. I will be having chemo in the summer and won’t be able to go. I have spoken to the airline, and they won’t refund me, I have spoken to the hotel, and they won’t refund me because I did not book it flexibly. What can I do?’
“I said your airline ticket is not faulty, it is still available, so you do not have rights there, go to your travel insurer.
“So many people say to me I haven’t got my travel insurance yet.
“Get it as soon as you book otherwise, I am left impotent, and my answer is there isn’t anything that you can do.
“If you have booked a holiday, travel insurance can be as little as £9. Get yourself on a price comparison website.”
The Money Saving Expert’s second warning involved European Health Insurance Cards (EHIC) and Global Health Insurance Cards (GHIC).
Martin urged everyone going holiday to either order a GHIC card or check that their EHIC card was still valid, with more than five million cards going out of date this year.
He said: “If you are going to the EU ensure you get a valid EHIC or GHIC. What these do is they entitle you to treatment in a state-run hospital or GPs at the same price as a local; free for them, free for you.
“Get or renew these cards, it is always free, go to NHS.uk.
“If a search engine takes you somewhere that charges or tries to fast track you, they are shysters, they are not real.
“You never pay for this, there is no such thing as a fast track, official sites will not charge you.”
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