There are several different kinds of wedding cancellation insurance coverage. The best ones will cover cancellations or postponements due to extreme weather, vendor deposits for no-shows, loss or damage of wedding day photos and videos, replacement bridal dress, rush alterations, stolen or damaged gifts, and much more. Some will also cover venue related concerns since reputable venues now require insurance so the couple isn’t held financially liable for any damage done at the property. Because many venues are historic properties or private estates and parks, there are many potential hazards to hosting hundreds of people. And possibly worst of all, someone may leave your wedding drunk, cause an accident, and you could get sued. Insurance can cover both legal fees and any judgments.
WHAT IS WEDDING INSURANCE?
Basically, wedding insurance protects a couple’s investment from circumstances beyond their control, and reimburses expenses incurred. For example, what if your limo driver doesn’t show up and you have to book another one the morning of the wedding—for three times the price? What if your reception space goes out of business a month before the wedding, and you lose your deposit and have to book another space? These are the types of wedding day financial losses that wedding insurance can help to protect.
WHY GET WEDDING INSURANCE?
Consider these scenarios:
- Jack and Jill spend months planning their winter wedding. But on the wedding day, their reception site is made inaccessible by an ice storm.
- The videograhper is injured in a car accident just before the wedding and cannot travel. So you have to replace him/her in a moments notice
- Right before the ceremony, the brides gown is accidentally torched by an angry bridesmaid and the dress instantly goes up in flames.
WHEN SHOULD YOU GET WEDDING INSURANCE?
The sooner the better. Let’s say you put a deposit on your wedding reception hall 12 months prior to your wedding date and then it burns to the ground a few weeks before the big day. With wedding insurance, you’ll be sure to get your deposit back.
WHAT DOES WEDDING INSURANCE COVER?
Problems with the site, weather, vendors, key people, sickness or injury are the top concerns come wedding day. There’s usually a specified maximum amount, which can be claimed under each section, and a deductible also applies. Be sure to find out the details of your insurance plan.
- Wedding venue: wedding insurance can cover the cost arising out of unavoidable cancellation such as damage or inaccessibility to the ceremony site—if your reception hall is unable to honor your reservation because it has burned in a fire, experienced an electrical outage or just plain closed down.
- Wedding Cake and Flowers: Direct physical damage or loss to the wedding cake or flowers seven days prior to the wedding.
- Wedding Stationery: Physical damage or loss to the wedding stationery prior to the wedding. Includes invitations, RSVP cards, menus and name cards.
- Rented Property: Reimbursement of direct and physical damage to rented property used during the wedding reception. It includes, but is not limited to, temporary outdoor shelters, such as tents or marquees, tables and chairs, stages, audio and visual equipment.
- Vendor no-show: What if essential wedding people—the caterer or the officiant, for example—fail to show up?
- Sickness or injury: Wedding insurance may also include sickness or injury to the bride, groom or anyone essential to the wedding.
- Weather: Any weather conditions which prevent the bride, groom, any relative whose presence at the wedding is essential or the majority of the guests from reaching the premises where the wedding is to take place. Insurance covers rescheduling the wedding.
- Photography: Some policies pay to retake the photographs after the fact if the photographer fails to appear or the original negatives are lost, damaged, stolen or not properly developed or even restage the event so that pictures can be taken. A policy may also pay costs for rehiring a photographer
- Videographer: When a videotape produced by a professional videographer is damaged (he or she used faulty materials, for example), to have either a video montage created, a video compilation made of the photographs and other wedding memorabilia, or if possible, a retaking of the official video at a restaging.
- Gifts: Whether they’re mailed to your home or handed to you on your wedding day, valuable items like gifts are something else you might want to consider insuring. Insurance for direct physical loss of or damage to YOUR wedding presents (24 hours prior to and after the wedding) while property is at the couples’ home or reception location or in transit between the two.
- Attire: This coverage pays to repair or replace the bridal gown or other special attire when it is in your possession and is lost, stolen or damaged (including financial failure of the bridal store).
- Honeymoon Cancellation: Will reimburse if Insured suffers a loss of pre-paid, non-refundable cost of travel due to the cancellation of the actual wedding.
- Loss deposits: Will pay for non-refundable deposits made to providers of any booked goods or services if they suffer financial failure.
- Bridal attire: Coverage for physical loss or damage to the bridal attire once the property is in the care of the Insured.
- Personal liability: Personal liability covers bodily injury or property damage caused by an accident that occurs during the course of the wedding.
- Medical coverage: This covers reasonable medical expenses (up to the policy’s limits) for each person who is injured during the covered events from a cause of loss.
- Honeymoon: Your honeymoon can cost as much as a new car.
- Rings: Covers physical loss or damage to wedding bands. Coverage starts 7 days prior to wedding.
- Commercial General Liability: including Host Liquor Liability for three (3) 24-hour periods. Includes coverage for rehearsal dinner, ceremony, reception and gift opening.
Extra 24-hour periods available upon request. - Wedding Cancellation: Reimbursement of deposits paid or contracted to be paid because of unexpected cancellation of the wedding as a result of an insured loss
WEDDING INSURANCE DOESN’T COVER…
- A change of heart. In other words, If you develop cold feet .. this does not count.
- Watches, jewelry or semiprecious gemstones or pearls (even if they are attached to clothing) may not be covered.
- While your wedding rings may be covered by the policy, your engagement ring probably will not.
- While natural disasters are mostly covered, Pandemic is currently not covered
- Business Interruption losses indirectly related to your wedding
Where to Purchase a Wedding Cancellation Insurance Policy:
It is wise for couples to purchase an event cancellation policy (Wedding Insurance). Note that there is currently no wedding insurance that covers a known loss or risk such as the Covid19 pandemic.
CANADIAN CARRIERS:
DUUO:
MITCHELL & WHALE INSURANCE BROKERS
Limits of Liability typically start from $1Mill to $5Mill.
Note that every wedding cancellation insurance policy and every wedding scenario is different. Be sure to talk to your insurance broker or carrier —and have them explain the details of the different policy options to you. You want to make sure you understand every detail of your policy before you purchase your wedding cancellation insurance policy.
To be eligible for Destination Wedding Coverage, the legally binding ceremony MUST take place at the destination location.
Article compiled by Adeola Damie.
Lead Planner at Celebration Events Mgmt.
A Canadian based wedding & event management company.
