Before 2020 and the many unexpected events that have followed, we have long advised our couples to purchase wedding insurance. In fact, many venues require it! At its most basic, wedding insurance protects the venue (and couple and vendors) from any damage to the property that may occur. It also commonly protects couples from losing their deposits. As a general statement, wedding insurance is wonderful to have. It offers peace of mind, and it’s typically reasonable to purchase.
Beyond the basics, there is plenty to know and understand about wedding insurance. Although we’re happy to provide initial guidance to our couples, we also always refer them to the experts. And, today, we’re bringing the experts to you to answer some of the most common questions about wedding insurance!
Below, David from eWed Insurance answers the top five questions we hear most often about wedding insurance. He explains what wedding insurance is and what it covers, the facts you need to know about wedding insurance and COVID-19 (hint: insurance does not cover a pandemic), how you can protect yourself and your wedding, and more. Make sure to keep reading, and bookmark this post to return to later if you’re not quite ready to purchase your policy.
What is wedding insurance?
Wedding insurance comes in two overall categories – Postponement/Cancellation covering lost deposits and Liability covering property damage and bodily injury. Each type of coverage address various cases of unforeseen issues that may occur and affect a wedding such as extreme weather, accidents or illness affecting an immediate family member, problems with vendor deposits for no-shows, loss or damage of wedding day photos and videos, need for replacement bridal dresses, rush alterations, stolen or damaged gifts, or property damages at the venue and more.
Why should couples purchase wedding insurance?
There’s a great deal of emotional and financial investment that goes into a wedding. When a couple has spent months of time, attention, and money for their special day, there’s nothing like having the peace of mind that should anything unforeseen occur, the day won’t just turn into a total disaster if they have coverage.
What does wedding insurance cover and what does it not cover? What do couples misinterpret when purchasing?
Wedding cancellation insurance can cover lost deposits a couple suffers if they need to cancel or postpone their wedding. Covered reasons for cancelling or postponing include illness or injury, severe weather, fires, flood and more. It can also cover things like no show vendors, lost or damages wedding dress or gifts. Liability insurance can protect the wedding couple if they are legally responsible for bodily injury or property damage. Examples are lawsuits for damage to the wedding venue, an accident caused by someone leaving the wedding drunk, or an injury at the wedding.
Insurance generally excludes claims where the loss was foreseeable and/or under your control. The most pressing one at the moment are coronavirus issues, which are unfortunately absolutely foreseeable these days. So canceling because of fear of traveling or being at a large gathering is within your control and can’t be covered. A pandemic in and by itself does not rise to the level of a covered item. As with all insurance, claims are handled on a case-by-case basis and decided individually. Generally, it would have to be of the nature that prevents more than half the guests from attending – different than more than half the guests choosing NOT to attend.
How can couples protect their wedding during Covid-19? What about those who did not purchase insurance and are now wondering what they can do?
The first and most important thing any couple can do is have a specific conversation with every vendor as to what happens to their deposit if the wedding needs to be canceled or postponed due to Covid. Nothing is written in stone and everything is open to negotiation.
All insurance companies are excluding Covid-19 related losses. Wedding insurance was not designed or priced to have every single person who bought the insurance make a claim at the same time for the same reason. This is the same for every type of insurance. While insurance can’t cover every conceivable type of loss, I can guarantee that without insurance nothing is covered. Better to get some coverage vs. no coverage, especially when you look at the cost of wedding insurance compared to the overall cost of a wedding.
You can learn more about eWed Insurance on their website, including how to apply for a policy.
