Severe weather, no-show
caterers, lost deposits, damaged bridal gowns, lost wedding rings and
stolen gifts are just some of the things that can go wrong on a wedding
day. While you may not want to even think about potential wedding-day
disasters, you can buy insurance for them.
According
to The Knot, one of the Internet's top wedding-planning Web sites, the
average wedding today costs $27,000 and more in large urban areas. You
may be plunking down 20 percent or more in nonrefundable deposits to
all your wedding vendors.
Insurance
is meant to protect against life's disasters and weddings are no
exception. Your home insurance may offer some limited liability
coverage, but to be covered for things like severe weather or damaged
bridal gowns, you'll need to purchase wedding insurance.
According
to the Insurance Information Institute (III), wedding insurance can
cost between $125 to $400, depending on the amount of coverage you buy.
Some policies have deductibles you must pay before insurance kicks in.
Here are the three major wedding insurance providers and their plans.
Travelers
Insurance offers a Wedding Protector Plan that covers expenses
associated with postponing a wedding due to severe weather (like a
hurricane). It also covers lost or damaged bridal gowns and groom
tuxedos, mishaps with event photography, no-show vendors, lost or
damaged wedding bands and a sudden illness or death that prevents the
bride, groom or parents from attending. It also covers postponement
expenses if the groom or bride has to withdraw for military leave.
Coverage
generally provides reimbursement for "nonrecoverable expenses" such as
lost deposits. Or, in the case of ruined photos, the policy pays for
your wedding party to reconvene for new pictures. This policy does not
have a deductible.
Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. offers Weddingsurance,
which covers similar calamities, including liability for you at the
wedding venue, weather cancellations, the cost to retake photos if they
are ruined and damage to gifts, jewelry and wedding attire.
In some states, you can also buy extra coverage for
heartbreak. For an additional $95, Weddingsurance can cover the biggest
disaster that could befall any wedding day — a change of heart by the
bride or groom. This coverage must be purchased by the person who
finances the wedding (not the bride or groom) and pays to recover
wedding expenses if the bride or groom gets cold feet during the
planning stage (up to certain limits). You can also purchase coverage
for expenses associated with counseling that may be needed to deal with
the emotional distress of a canceled event.
WedSafe Wedding Insurance is underwritten by Markel
American Insurance Co. You can buy one or both of WedSafe's plans:
Wedding Cancellation Insurance and Wedding Liability Insurance. The
cancellation coverage pays for problems such as severe weather, vendors
who don't show up or go bankrupt, damage to wedding attire or rings,
approved military leave or events that prevent important family members
from attending.
WedSafe's Wedding Liability Insurance pays if
you're held liable for injuries or property damage at the wedding and
it's available with a "host liquor liability" for alcohol-related
accidents. There's generally a $1,000 deductible for property-damage
claims.
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Questions to ask before you buy a wedding insurance policy |
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Is the insurance company licensed to do business in your state? (Find out from your state department of insurance.)
How much the policy will cost and how much reimbursement you can expect?
What is and is not covered by the policy?
Do you have similar coverage elsewhere through credit
cards, warrantees or home, car or other insurance policies you may
already have?
Source: Insurance Information Institute
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Your home insurance policy offers you some
liability protection when you're away from home. For example, you
likely already have coverage for "necessary medical expenses" at "a
premises occasionally rented to an insured for other than business use
(such as banquet facilities for a wedding reception)." Your wedding hall may have required you to
sign a "hold harmless" agreement stating that if a guest is injured
because of a condition of the premises and sues the hall, the liability
is transferred to you. Find out the liability limit offered by your
current home insurance and/or umbrella policy.
What if there's property damage at the wedding
hall? Your home insurance liability coverage extends only to damage
done by fire, smoke and explosion. In other words, if one of your
guests smashes a light fixture at the wedding hall and the hall owner
holds you responsible, your home insurance will not pay.
As
with any insurance policy, you want to understand what you are buying.
For example, you may wrongly assume that your coverage kicks in if it
rains on your outdoor wedding. But wedding policies are meant to cover
"severe weather" that prevents most guests or the bride or groom from
attending. You'd need a weather event on the level of a hurricane or
blizzard in order to make a claim.
Another
common wedding-day problem, illness, is addressed by wedding insurance
to a certain extent. It covers unexpected illness but won't cover
illness from pre-existing conditions. Check your policy for specifics.
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