Wedding Insurance

Preparing for a wedding can be exciting, but also expensive. You need to reserve reception halls, book bands, arrange for photos and videos, look for gowns and tuxedos, choose flowers, etc. After making all these plans, you count on it all coming together on one memorable day. Wedding insurance may help pay for the costs of unexpected events that may delay the wedding ceremony or disrupt your special day.

Why Buy Wedding Insurance

You may have saved and planned for your wedding day. But despite all the planning, it is possible that something could go wrong. Unexpected weather could force you to cancel the wedding. Delays in flights or delivered items could delay the actual ceremony and cause you to spend more in rental fees. Wedding gifts could be damaged or stolen during the reception.

Depending upon your wedding arrangements, you may still be financially responsible for the costs of the church ceremony, reception, band, flowers, etc., even if the wedding has to be cancelled. Wedding insurance policies are designed to protect you from the costs of unexpected, disrupting events. Although each policy or certificate may be different, each could be tailored to the particular needs of your wedding.

In addition to the costs of a cancelled event, wedding insurance can protect you against the risk of damages to the locations used to celebrate the wedding or caused by guests who drink at the wedding, injuries sustained at the wedding celebration, damages to rented clothes or jewelry and even coverage for gifts that are received at the wedding.

Don't My Other Policies Cover Me?

Most traditional property and casualty insurance policies cover you for unexpected losses that affect your property or make you liable for a lawsuit, but they most likely do not cover you for disruptions to wedding plans for which you may have already paid. Some traditional property and casualty insurance policies may even cover you for the cost of damages to certain personal items, such as a wedding gown, but may cover only part of the loss and not the actual cost of the gown.

Am I Required To Buy Wedding Insurance?

There are no specific laws requiring anyone to purchase wedding insurance, but if you are investing a significant amount of money in one day, it may be prudent to consider this coverage to protect your investment in the reservations and deposits you may have made.

How Do I Obtain Coverage? Can I Ever Be Turned Down

Wedding insurance is offered in a competitive market. You have the right to shop around for wedding insurance from companies available in your area but a company also has the right to turn down your application for coverage.

In order to obtain a wedding insurance policy, you must fill out an application to help the insurance company learn about you, your wedding, and the risks the insurance company would be responsible for if they insure you. After reviewing the information, the insurance company will use its own standards, known as underwriting guidelines, to decide whether to issue you a policy, and the rate it would charge for the coverage.

If an insurer agrees to consider your application, the producer or company may issue you an "insurance binder", a legally binding statement indicating that you have immediate protection for a specified period of time during which the company will decide whether to issue you a policy. If the company formally accepts your application, it will issue a policy, usually covering the duration of the wedding period. If your application is rejected, you will need to apply to another insurer.

Wedding insurance is sometimes sold by agencies affiliated with or through referrals from wedding planners. Some insurers use direct marketers who sell insurance through the mail and by telephone. Others insurance companies sell coverage through producers that only represent their company. These companies call their producers an exclusive agency force. Independent agents represent several companies; therefore, you can get quotes for more than one company from just one producer. 

Can An Insurer Ever Cancel My Coverage?

Yes, an insurer can cancel your coverage. You should read your policy carefully to determine the conditions for cancellation. Companies can cancel or non-renew coverage, but only according to the conditions that are spelled out within the policy.

What Level of Coverage Do I Need?

You should only consider buying coverage up to the level of your need because the amount of coverage you buy will affect the price that you pay. Before you make your plans, think about how much it will cost to insure your wedding. You may want to factor this into the cost when making your plans if you believe that you should have wedding insurance. 

For example, maybe you only want enough coverage necessary to compensate you for the cost of nonrefundable deposits or reservations that you have already paid for. Other coverage should only be bought if it does not duplicate coverage that you already have; you should check your other policies to determine what coverage you already have.

Most insurance companies offer a variety of discounts based upon projected reduced risks for certain features.

What Should I Do If Something Happens On The Wedding Day?

Most insurance policies generally require you do the following things:

• Give notice to the insurance company.
• Protect yourself from further losses or damage. Do not take any actions without the advice of counsel.
• Give your insurance producer, claims adjuster and/or insurance company a copy of a list of all damaged, destroyed or stolen property (being sure to keep a copy). In case of theft, be sure to give another copy to the police.
• Show the damaged property to your insurance producer, claims adjuster and/or insurance company, if asked. Do not dispose of any damaged property until your producer, claims adjuster and/or company says you can.