Martin Lewis issues crucial warning for anyone who has booked a holiday for this year

The long, dark depths of January have almost come to an end, and many people will now be looking forward to their summer holiday. If this is you, Martin Lewis has a very important message.

The financial journalist has issued a fresh warning to anyone who has a holiday booked for this year or even beyond, insisting you should buy your holiday insurance ASAB.

Nope, that's not a typo - ASAB, as Lewis regularly tells his followers, means you need to get hold of your insurance as soon as you book.

"If you are booking or have booked a holiday, here's a hugely important warning for you," he told listeners of The Martin Lewis Podcast.

"Make sure you get your travel insurance 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."

You might be wondering why, as many people don't feel the need to buy their insurance until right before they go away, but as Lewis explains, this is a huge mistake and could leave you without protection if the worst happens before you travel.

"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 last minute to get your travel insurance and something happens, you won't be covered," he explained.

There are two different ways to purchase insurance. Some people will opt for an annual cover, particularly those who will be going on multiple trips a year, whereas others choose to book insurance for the exact dates of their trip. Both of these options are fine, but there are a couple of things you need to know first.

You need to get your travel insurance ASAB (Getty Stock Images)

"If it's a single trip policy it's really easy, let's say you're going away 1 August to 8 August, you get a single policy cover for those dates, you give those dates, you pay for it now, you've got your policy in place," Lewis 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 a live annual policy, you get one now but you need to have the start date being today. You don't leave it until 1 August and try and book it in advance."

Meanwhile, if you already have an insurance policy in place until the end of your holiday, the money saving expert says 'you're fine', but if your current annual policy stops before the date you go away, then you're in trouble, and you'll want to get a new policy in place starting the day after your old policy ends, to make sure you're covered for your upcoming trip, 'so you have continuous cover going all the way through'.