To be honest, I was not even aware that wedding insurance existed. Add it to the list of things I don’t know (but I do now!). Just because I was in the dark (and luckily didn’t need it at my own wedding!) doesn’t mean you should be unprotected too. Understanding the risks involved in planning a wedding can help you determine whether or not you should purchase insurance to protect you against misfortune and mishap. According to About.com, wedding insurance policies are relatively inexpensive – a basic policy costs between $125 to $500 – and can help you have peace of mind.
As people who sell wedding insurance like to point out, the average wedding in the USA costs $27,000, and in such a case wedding insurance would become a necessity (and a mere drop in the bucket, too). If you are having a less expensive affair, you may decide to forgo the insurance. You can also get a less expensive policy that covers a specific risk (such as your luggage getting lost en route to your destination wedding; in such a case wedding insurance would cover the cost of quickly replacing your gowns and tux’s.)
About.com lists the following things that Wedding Insurance typically covers (Be sure to read the fine print of your policy to make sure they cover these things!) :
- Weather If your celebration has to be postponed because of rain or other bad weather, your policy should cover the cost of rescheduling.
- Illness or Injury If essential people get sick or injured, causing the wedding to be postponed, the expenses involved are covered.
- A Missing Officiant If your minister, justice of the peace, rabbi or other celebrant doesn’t show up, you’ll recoup some of your costs.
- Missing vendors Similarly, if your caterer, florist, photographer, or other key vendor is missing in action, you’ll recover some costs and possibly the costs of rescheduling the whole thing. (Er, can’t imagine rescheduling my whole wedding because the florist didn’t show up, but to each his own…)
- Your Location If your ceremony and reception sites don’t already carry their own insurance, your wedding insurance policy can cover damage to the site, fire, electrical or mechanical problems, or going out of business that causes you to lose money or have to reschedule.
You can also purchase additional riders, such as:
- Military Service Should the bride or groom be in the military or active reserves, you’ll want to be insured in case they are called to duty suddenly and everything has to be postponed.
- Your Gowns and Tuxedos including stores going out of business or damage.
- Gifts If your homeowners or renters insurance doesn’t cover them, you may want to protect against theft or damage of gifts.
- Liability Most sites carry liability insurance, but if you’re having your wedding at home, you’ll want to be protected in case a guest gets hurt or hurts someone else.
- Honeymoon Protect yourself against having to cancel your trip due to illness, bad weather or other unfortunate circumstances.
In case you had the same question lingering in the back of you mind… canceling because one person gets cold feet, or ditches the other at the alter doesn’t qualify!