The holiday season isn’t far off now, with many people having family trips abroad booked over the summer months.

However, as living costs continue to rise, some may wonder if they can skip the travel insurance and save themselves a bit of money.

Consumer affairs correspondent with the Irish Times Conor Pope said this strategy is “completely wrong”.

“I reckon I probably get more complaints and concerns from readers of the Irish Times about travel issues than I do about anything else,” he told The Hard Shoulder.

“And I’d say a good 30-or-40% of the people who contact me could have saved themselves the bother if they had taken out a travel insurance in advance – it's incredibly important.

“It’s also really good value, and it’s not often you’d use the words ‘good value’ and ‘insurance’ - but it is.”

Mr Pope said most multi-trip insurances can cover entire families for around €150 a year.

You can listen back to the full interview here:

Main image: Family holiday. Image: Panther Media GmbH / Alamy. 9 July 2013