Martin Lewis has urged holidaymakers to get travel insurance as soon as they book their trip away.
The money saving expert made the comments as many people have booked their getaway abroad this month.
January is seen as the biggest holiday booking month as many seek to beat the post-festive return to work blues.
A number of people opt to get travel insurance just weeks before they are due to fly out - which is not an issue providing that nothing happens before you leave, reports the Liverpool Echo .
However, if you have any illness that leads you to cancel your trip then you will be uncovered without the insurance.
“We need to be blunt. Every year, someone emails us something like ‘I’ve just found I’ve got cancer . I’ve treatment lasting three months, I’m due to go on holiday, but they won’t refund me”, said Martin Lewis.
"It's upsetting and frustrating but is exactly what travel insurance is for.”
If you holiday more than once a year, annual travel insurance wins, as it covers unlimited numbers of trips, but capped at 17 to 90 days per holiday.
However, if you go away once, single-trip policies cost from £6 in Europe or £18 worldwide.
If you just want the cheapest - not factoring in payout record or service - expect to pay from £6 for a seven-day trip to Europe for an individual and from £38 for a family with worldwide cover for a week.
