Your special day is approaching, and even though you may think that everything will go as planned, the reality is that life happens, and unfortunate situations can and sometimes do occur. Considering an average wedding in the U.S. costs upwards of $30,000 – a significant financial investment! – you’ll want to make sure that investment is properly covered. Give yourself peace of mind and make it a priority to obtain wedding or special event coverage to avoid any unforeseen out-of-pocket expenses.
What is wedding and special event insurance?
Wedding or special event insurance is a policy that protects you from circumstances out of your control that arise during a wedding or other type of special event. The coverage would provide for financial loss that results from some of the most common wedding or event mishaps, including venue closings, property damage, extreme weather, no-shows from a vendor, military deployment, and sickness or injury.
What does wedding or special event insurance cover?
Most standard wedding and special event insurance policies would provide the following coverages:
- Cancellation or Postponement Coverage: Helps protect you from a financial loss if your event needs to be postponed or cancelled due to extreme weather, serious illness, or injury to the couple or immediate family, or an unexpected circumstance.
- Video/Photo Coverage: If your photographer or videographer does not show up for your event, or they do not deliver photos or videos as promised, you will have coverage.
- Special Attire or Jewelry Coverage: Coverage would provide for lost or damaged dresses, suits or attire. Jewelry coverage for lost or damaged wedding rings are also covered, but it is highly recommended that you schedule any jewelry, such an engagement ring, onto a valuable items policy, homeowner’s policy or renter’s policy.
- Wedding Gift Coverage: If a wedding gift is lost, stolen or damaged, coverage would be provided. Most carriers exclude cash and gift cards.
- Unexpected Wedding Expenses Coverage: Provides coverage for unexpected expenses that come up, such as food spoilage/catering due to cancellation or postponement, replacing a damaged wedding cake, and entertainment/band mishaps.
- Lost Deposits Coverage: Includes protection for lost deposits, such as those paid to bakers, caterers, bridal shops and wedding venues that go out of business.
While the above list is fairly comprehensive, unfortunately not everything can be covered under your wedding or special event policy. For example: A change of heart. If the bride or groom wants to postpone or cancel the wedding due to cold feet, typically there would be no coverage.
Should I purchase liability insurance for my event?
Yes! Although liability coverage is optional on most wedding and special event insurance policies, it is important to secure liability coverage in case you are legally responsible for property damage to the venue, or for an injury to someone at the event. Typically, the liability portion of your policy remains in force until 2 a.m. the morning following your insured event date. Any accidents, damages or losses occurring after this time will not be covered.
Additionally, liquor liability is another optional coverage that you can add to your wedding or special event insurance policy. Liquor liability would protect against on-premise alcohol-related accidents that result in a liability loss.
At the end of the day, not only is it smart to get wedding or special event insurance, but it very well may be required by your venue. Coverage can be purchased as early as two years prior to or as late as 24 hours before your planned event, so it is never too early or too late to protect your special day.
At Hanson & Ryan, we want to make sure your investment is covered properly. If you have any questions regarding wedding or special event coverage or would like us to provide you with a quote, contact us today!