You’ve paid for the flowers, booked the DJ and put deposits down on the cake. Your wedding may still be months away, but you’ve already committed a lot of money to making your day magical. There’s just one thing you may not have thought about, but it’s something you should consider. Have you looked into wedding insurance?
The average wedding costs over £20,000. If you’re spending big sums on your wedding day, you don’t want something like illness, a missing supplier or a serious weather warning to cause you serious financial loss.
That’s not to say wedding insurance is necessary for every couple. Let’s find out the ins and outs of wedding insurance benefits so that you have the information you need to decide.
Do we need wedding insurance?
Nobody wants to think that something will go wrong on their wedding day – and it’s fair to say that most weddings go smoothly. That’s probably why most couples tend towards optimism, with statistics suggesting that only 25% of couples take out a wedding insurance policy.
However, issues do happen for a small number of couples, with claims including:
– Flight cancellations, preventing couples or guests reaching their venue
– Serious damage to the venue itself
– Suppliers failing to provide the service they promised or going out of business.
If you’re having a small wedding with minimal financial outlay, you may choose not to have insurance. Or perhaps you’ve ensured that every supplier has detailed terms and conditions to cover you in the event of issues, cancellations or delays. It’s always important to vet your suppliers, get referrals and read their conditions carefully, which helps minimise your risk.
What does wedding insurance cover?
Not every policy is the same, so you need to look at the cover offered as well as the cost of wedding insurance. Here are some of the main things to look for:
Venue concerns
When you choose a venue, you’ll take time to visit and get a feel for the layout, views and atmosphere. Make sure you also take time to read the reviews, meet the team and find out about the history of the business. At Coton House Farm, we’ve been hosting weddings for over 20 years. We’re confident in our reputation and our suppliers.
But the worst nightmare for any venue is having to close for unforeseen circumstances. Wedding insurance can help you to cover the costs of securing a new venue or having to rearrange to another date.
Unforeseen weather
We’re very used to planning for every type of weather at Coton House. We are licensed for indoor and outdoor ceremonies, so if torrential rain stops your wedding from taking place under our Oak Pergola, we can swiftly move to the beautiful Old Dairy Barn.
Other venues are not as versatile, without the space or facilities to quickly adapt. So, if weather does wreck your plan for an outdoor wedding, insurance may help with costs due to postponing or moving venue.
Supplier issues
The wedding industry is a vast network of suppliers and vendors, many of whom have been in business for years and established great reputations. Look at our own list of Trusted Suppliers. But if you are unfortunate and have a DJ cancel at the last minute, or caterer go out of business, your wedding insurance should help recover any costs.
Illness or injury
There are some people that are vital to your wedding day – and not just the main couple. Parents, immediate family, your best man or matron of honour are all important to you, and you want to celebrate with them. So, if illness or injury does mean that someone cannot attend and you do have to postpone, wedding insurance may be a necessity.
Lost or damaged items
Can you imagine spending thousands on a stunning, one-of-a-kind wedding dress, only for a guest to slip and drench you in red wine? It may be something from a movie – but it can happen in real life too. Weddings are for wearing finery, with tailored suits, expensive watches and heirloom diamonds. Make sure one of your wedding insurance benefits covers you for damage or theft of your most treasured items.
Unforeseen events
A few years ago, you would never have imagined that a global pandemic would shut the country down for months. Now, with that a reality that affected many couples, you may feel that covering your wedding against unforeseen events such as natural disasters is a necessary cover to help protect you against potential loss.
Liability wedding insurance
Liability wedding insurance and public liability cover protect you if someone is injured at your wedding or causes damage to your venue. You never know what might happen if someone trips over the videographer’s tripod or is injured on the bouncy castle. Some venues insist on it, others may be covered under their own policies. At Coton House, we have our own cover. If you do think you need it, make sure you check.
A checklist for choosing wedding insurance
If you do decide that wedding insurance will give you peace of mind, follow our checklist for choosing a robust policy.
- Check your agreements with your suppliers carefully to see what they include in their conditions.
- Ask your venue what they include or may require, such as liability wedding insurance.
- Decide what cover you need from the list above, and any other elements that might be key.
- Check the list of exclusions. Most policies, for example, will not include pre-existing health conditions.
- Add up the cost of your wedding expenses and have a total value in mind, to be sure your insurance is sufficient to cover everything.
- Don’t choose your wedding insurance based on cost alone. Check the reputation of the insurer for paying out on claims as well.
- Don’t leave buying your policy too late. Once you start putting money into the wedding, get insured. You cannot buy a policy after something has gone wrong and then claim for it.
Remember that wedding insurance is focused on your wedding day. Any other events that may be wedding-related, such as hen and stag parties or your honeymoon, are unlikely to be included. You’ll need separate insurance policies for anything you think necessary.
Don’t worry about what could go wrong. The vast majority of weddings happen without incident – and we’ve seen plenty of wonderful, joy-filled days here at Coton House. Get your insurance and then you can focus on what an amazing wedding day you will have.
If you have any questions, talk to your wedding coordinator. We’re here to help.
