Wedding Insurance: Protect Your Big Day
What Is Covered?
Most wedding insurance policies wrok just like insuring your car, home, or business. If something awful happens – the caterer suddenly goes belly-up two days before the reception, or your reception hall burns to a crisp the night before your big day, wedding insurance can help you recover all of the money you’ve paid out.
By having wedding insurance, a huge number of way-out-there “what if’s” are a bit more under control. You can concentrate on having the wedding you’ve dreamed of, instead of worrying about the weather, key members of the wedding party like clergy, gowns, wedding rings, gifts, and … well, a huge number of other things. Here are a few “what if’s” that typical wedding insurance will cover:
Cancellations: If some unforseen event causes you to cancel the wedding, insurance will cover the fees racked up by the cancellation. Think about some of the things that have penalties for cancellation – everything from photographer deposits to the expense of flowers. So let’s say that the clergyman scheduled to preside over your ceremony suddenly becomes ill – like, so ill that he can’t stand up for the ceremony. Your wedding insurance will help you cover both the penalty fees of cancellation, and usually the expenses of having the invitations re-sent and flowers re-delivered for the day you reschedule to.
Vendors and Key Members: Really, this ties tightly into cancellations – but we’re going to look at it anyway. When your bridal party can’t attend the scheduled wedding date because, let’s say, the flight they were going to take was cancelled, wedding insurance will cover the costs associated with changing your wedding date. Also covered under this topic is injury and illness. If the bride, groom, or any other key member essential to the wedding being performed becomes ill or injured and can’t attend, insurance will save you even bigger headaches. Seriously, this alone will help you breathe much easier.
Wedding Attire: There is nothing more nerve-wracking than thinking something will happen to your beautiful gown before you get to wear it down the aisle. A careless hand spills cofee or a seemingly minor loose string becomes an entire loose seam … if your gown or the groom’s tuxedo are damaged before the wedding, you don’t have to stress. Take a few deep breaths, get replacements as quickly as possible, and insurance will pay for the damage to your pocketbook.
Wedding Jewelry: Did you watch the sitcom “Friends”? If you did, you might remember the episode in which Joey loses Chandler and Monica’s rings to a risque one-night-stand, and the madness which ensued because of it. Okay, so most of us (thankfully!) don’t live such colorful lives – but things happen and sometimes rings are lost, damaged, or stolen. If this happens to you, you can place a claim on the rings and your policy will cover it. Just make sure to check your policy carefully – you will need to report the loss right away, because most wedding insurance policies will put a limit of about 9 days past the wedding date for filing claims.
Wedding Memorabilia: Photographers and/or Videographers are key to helping you immortalize the special day. If one of these vendors doesn’t show up and you have to reschedule the wedding or find another service provider, insurance will reimburse your fees. Another extremely useful thing about this section is that sometimes film gets ruined, or fly-by-night vendors decide to fly away with your money before ever delivering the goods. Hey – it’s a nightmare, but it happens. Just make sure you have recourse by having these items covered.
Finding Wedding Insurance
Most wedding insurance policies range between $200-300. Seriously consider how much of a bargain this is – for less than about 5% of the total cost of your wedding, you can have everything covered.
Before you purchase your insurance, gather all of your receipts. Make two copies of every receipt – one for the insurance company, and one that you can place with a trusted family member. Keep the original receipts in a lock box in case you do have to file a claim.
When you’ve found a company you’re comfortable with, read the policy carefully before you sign. Take notes of important dates – such as how long you have to file a claim on specific items like rings. If you don’t understand a certain part of the policy or have any questions, make sure that you have them answered clearly so that you understand everything before you place your john hancock on the paper.
Want a company to look at? The following website has been listed with the Better Business Bureau and is highly respected. Just because of this fact, though, don’t let your guard down. Make sure that you read and understand everything before you pay a single dime.
WEDSAFE: www.wedsafe.com – The focus of the WedSafe Wedding Insurance Program is to offer affordable coverage for the most important elements of a wedding and reception, and provide wedding couples peace of mind to enjoy their big day. This company also provides general private event insurance and offers policies in every state of the U.S.
