As the peak travel season approaches, amid reports of jet fuel availability and cancellation fears, Martin Lewis has reminded people of his golden holiday rule, which he urges everyone to follow. He explained why it is so important on his recent special episode of the Money Show Live (Tuesday, April 28).

Martin said his "most important" tip is to secure travel insurance "as soon as you book", which he abbreviated to ASAB. Explaining his 'rule', Martin said: "If you're booking a single-trip policy, then you get the insurance as soon as you book to cover a specific future date.

"You pay for that and, once you've paid for it, you have the travel insurance. If anything happens from that point onwards, you're covered, no problem."

Instead of waiting for something to go wrong, people should consider getting insurance as soon as they book their holiday to protect themselves in the event of an issue. What different providers cover depends on the type passengers choose.

The reason that Martin said it's best to have protection now, even if your holiday is a few weeks away or over a year away, is that protection starts immediately.

He explained: "The reason you do that is that half of the coverage you're paying for is in case something happens that stops you from going before the trip. If you don't have travel insurance, you've got no cover. So you might as well have it in place.

"At this time of year, when many people have already booked, I have a slight adaptation. If you've booked and you don't have it yet, just get it now."

Co-presenter on the ITV show, Jeanette Kwakye, shared that a viewer got in touch to share that they managed to dodge a £5,000 rescheduling fee because they had travel insurance in place. The person told Martin: "I booked flights to Australia for a family group of seven to travel in March next year.

"I took out insurance immediately. One of our group members is now pregnant and can't travel on the dates planned. It cost £5,000 to reschedule, which I'm happy to report the insurance has covered."

During the show, Martin told anyone booking their holiday this summer that they would not get money back if their flight is cancelled and they can't get to their hotel. But, this was only if they booked in a certain way and there's a way to secure certainty should the worst happen.

The financial broadcaster was asked by an audience member: "If my flight's cancelled due to no jet fuel will you definitely receive all your money back, even for your hotel booking as well."

Martin explained that people would lose their hotel booking money if they had booked it separately from flights, as they won't be covered by consumer rules. He said: "No. And I think this is what people need to be very aware of.

"If you booked a package holiday where you booked everything in one, then under the package holiday regulations and rules and protections generally, if your flight went, you would get everything back. At the moment, package holidays give you a certain level of extra security that you wouldn't get if you did a DIY booking where you bought your hotel and flight separately."