Your wedding is supposed to be one of the happiest days of your life, right? But what if something goes wrong? From damaging your wedding dress to a guest breaking a window – or even having to cancel – there could be some big expenses involved.
Sarah Rose on her wedding day. Luckily, they didn’t need to use their wedding insurance.
That’s where wedding insurance comes in, to cover you for life’s unexpected catastrophes. But what exactly is it?
What is wedding insurance?
At its core, it is special event insurance that provides coverage up to, during, and after your special day. There are two main types of special event insurance:
- Event cancelation or postponement coverage – This will cover the cost of canceling or postponing your wedding. This typically includes reimbursing you for certain costs, such as deposits you have already made. It may also provide coverage for things such as lost or damaged photographs, videos, gifts, and wedding rings.
- Liability coverage – This will cover the cost of damage to the event venue as well as personal injury to your guests or event staff.
What is covered under cancelation or postponement coverage?
Some typical coverages under event cancelation or postponement coverage may include:
- Venue issues – If your venue is suddenly no longer available (for example, if it has suddenly flooded on the day of your wedding)
- Vendor issues – If your vendors’ license suddenly gets revoked, they go out of business, or they simply fail to show
- Weather – If extreme weather prevents the couple, immediate family, wedding party members, or a majority of your guests from being able to attend – be warned that many policies require this to be purchased at least two weeks in advance
- Serious illness or injury to a member of the couple or immediate family
- The military deployment of a member of the couple – some policies also cover last-minute job relocations as well
- Damage to the wedding dress or other wedding-specific attire
- Lost or damaged photographs or videos – insurance will provide reimbursement for any payments you made to your photographer and/or videographer if they fail to show, cancel at the last minute, or if the film or negatives are damaged. This also includes if they left the camera lens on, forgot to insert the battery, or forgot to load the film or memory card
- Lost or damaged gifts
- Lost or damaged wedding bands
What is covered under liability coverage?
Liability coverage means you will not be responsible out of pocket for any physical damage to the venue should one of your guests get a little rowdy. Someone punches a hole in the wall? Let your insurance policy cover it. Likewise, should one of your guests or event staff injure themselves while at your wedding, you will not be responsible for the cost of their medical bills. Best man Billy didn’t notice that there was a piece of ice on the floor, slipped, hit his head, and had to go to Patient First? Your wedding insurance should cover his medical bills.
What is not covered by wedding insurance?
Most insurance policies do not cover a change of heart, i.e. a decision by the couple to not go forward with the wedding. They also do not typically cover special jewelry or watches, including engagement rings.
Unfortunately, the inability to pay for your wedding is also not a valid recovery reason under most policies. Some insurance companies see weather conditions and COVID-19 as foreseeable circumstances and do not provide cancelation coverage for these events. However, others do still provide coverage, so be sure to check the fine print.
Most policies do have a deductible and your coverage is only good up to the amount you choose, so take that into consideration when making your decision. Not all insurance policies are created equally. Be careful to read the fine print to be sure of what is included in your specific plan.
Is wedding insurance right for you?
Consider whether you and your fiancé have the money to cover the cost of surprise expenses, should any of these situations arise. Additionally, many venues require wedding insurance, so be sure to check those contracts. Ultimately it is your decision, but for some, the peace of mind is well worth the cost.
If you or someone you know has been injured at a wedding, call us today to discuss your unique situation. The experienced personal injury attorneys at Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen can help. Call 866-388-1703 for a free consultation.
