What is Wedding Insurance and Do You Really Need It?
If you’re in the middle of planning your dream wedding, you’re probably thinking about your dress, dinner menu, DJ, and venue decor while also arguing with your mom about whether you really have to invite Larry, your weird cousin twice removed, whom you haven’t seen since you were twelve.
Of course, these are all important elements of planning your big day but, there is one vital aspect of wedding planning that many couples often overlook - wedding and event insurance.
No, it’s not insurance against being left at the altar, although many policies will cover postponement or cancellation due to pre-determined reasons like, say, a global pandemic. It’s a type of special event insurance.
Nobody wants to think about what can go wrong on one of the most important days of their lives but, with all the moving parts involved in weddings, the potential for things to go wrong continues to increase. Wedding and event insurance protects against those risks.
And given the crazy high price of weddings these days, it also helps to protect your investment.
Providers of wedding insurance typically offer coverage for two main types of risk - liability and cancellation.
Liability Coverage
Wedding and event insurance provides protection against liabilities in case someone is injured at your wedding, or if a guest or supplier causes damage to the venue.
Many venues, including Crooked Steeple Hall, require clients to provide liability insurance for the duration of their event. But it’s always a good idea to check with your venue about whether it covers liability, before adding it to your insurance policy.
It’s also a good idea to check with your vendors to see the extent of their liability coverage, in case you need to include provisions for them in your policy.
With liability insurance, if Uncle Jim drinks too much and knocks over a lamp while showing off his dance moves, liability insurance will cover the damage.
Cancellation Coverage
Cancellation or postponement insurance protects you from the costs incurred by having to cancel or postpone your wedding.
Cancellation coverage would cover cancellations or postponements due to immediate family or key people in your wedding party falling ill, extreme weather events, property damage that forces venue closure, issues with vendors (e.g. no-shows, bankruptcy), and pandemics (ahem… COVID-19 wedding anyone?).
Other Types of Wedding Coverage
This isn’t typical but some policies may even provide coverage if you can no longer afford your wedding due to job loss.
Some policies also cover loss or damage to wedding gifts, wedding bands, bridal gown and groom’s suit, and wedding photographs and videos.
However, most wedding policies do NOT provide coverage for your therapy bills if your cancellation is due to cold feet or a change of heart… so make sure you’re sure :)
Wedding insurance costs vary widely so shop around. You will have to decide on your coverage limits, the terms of coverage, and deductibles. Many of our guests recommend Eventsured because their policies have zero deductible, which reduces your out of pocket costs in the event of a claim.
Because you want everything to be perfect for your big day, planning can get very involved and overwhelming. Unfortunately, life happens and things don’t always go as planned. Investing in wedding insurance will give you peace of mind knowing that even if something does go wrong, you are protected.
