Martin Lewis gives important advice for ‘super cheap’ Covid-friendly travel insurance

Martin Lewis says get travel insurance as soon as you book

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Martin said that travel insurance policies were finally starting to emerge for Covid. Many travellers have had issues due to travel bans.

Martin said: “If you are booking a holiday, you need to get insurance ASAB (as soon as you book).

“Every year, I get to the summer and someone sends me a message, forgive me for saying this, with something like ‘I just got cancer, I’m going to need chemotherapy in two or three months time, I’m having to cancel my holiday, I can’t get a refund on my flights or my holiday, what are my rights?’

“And the answer is you don’t have any! The flight’s still going ahead, there’s nothing wrong with your ticket.

“And I ask if they’ve got travel insurance and they say ‘I was going to get it before I went’.

“No! You have your travel insurance as soon as you book because so many of the things you can claim for can happen before the holiday so ASAB.”

Martin then looked at cheap ‘no frills’ policies for under 65s with no existing medical conditions.

He said: “They start at £9 per week for an individual in Europe. Now what will they cover you Covid wise?

“If you can’t travel because you’ve tested positive or the NHS have told you to isolate, most will usually cover you.

“Equally if you catch it abroad, have to stay longer, have knock on accommodation costs, most will usually cover you.

“I call these no frills because they’re super cheap. They all meet the minimum claim levels, cover levels for claiming but the service level and how they handle claims, I just don’t know.

“I can’t vouch for it. They’re very cheap policies so no frills. Remember if you have a problem with a claim you can take it to the ombudsman if you think you’ve been dealt with unfairly.

“But nothing is straightforward in this game. The price depends on age and location and vaxxed.

“That’s not actually about the price. Some of these won’t accept you if you’re not vaccinated, that’s how it works.”

Martin said: “If you go away more than two times in a year, annual policies are cheaper.

“Two times includes UK pre booked holidays for more than two days by the way.

“You’ll find it much cheaper to get an annual policy that covers all the trips. Winter sports add ons are available, so if you’re hitting the slopes you’ll need that.”

He added that having travel insurance is now compulsory in Italy for any tourist going on a ski holiday.

Martin said: “There are policies that will cover you now if the UK lockdowns or the Foreign Office advises you against travel.

“They’ll usually cover you. There are no overseas policies that will cover you if the overseas country won’t let you as far as I’m aware.

“None that will cover you if it’s not safe to go or you’re worried you’d have to quarantine when you come back, you won’t get cover for that.”

He added: “Always when you’re booking travel now, try to make sure you get cancellation with it.

“Make sure cancellation is allowed or at least it’s flexible so you can move it to a different date.”

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