Why wedding insurance? 1193 views

Why wedding insurance?

Months of preparations should mean that you and your guests have the time of your lives on your big day. Unfortunately, unforeseen circumstances can scupper even the best-laid plans. Tim O’Mara of E&L Insurance outlines just some of the reasons why wedding insurance could be the best investment you make.

What do you do if…

…a member of the wedding party is taken ill on the morning of the wedding and you are therefore forced to cancel your big day?
The biggest single financial risk is if the wedding day had to be cancelled or rescheduled. The average cost of a wedding is now over £17,000, and many couples could not afford to lose this much money should the worst happen. There are many reasons why couples are forced to cancel their wedding – family illness, death, jury service or even a last-minute job posting overseas should the bride or groom be a member of the Armed Forces. Wedding insurance covers the cost of most unforeseen events, with the exception of the bride or groom not going through with the marriage due to cold feet or a similar reason.

…your chosen venue burns down a month before the wedding?
Imagine the scene: you have booked the venue of your dreams but wake one morning to a telephone call telling you there has been a fire and the venue can no longer honour your booking. What would you do? Wedding insurance would cover any loss of deposits and any additional costs incurred in finding an alternative venue.

…the dress shop you are buying from goes into liquidation before you have picked up your dress?
Sadly, some brides put deposits down for their dream dress and return to the shop at a later date to find it closed or gone into administration. In these instances very few get their money back from the proprietors of the shop. Insurance will reimburse any lost deposits, allowing you to go elsewhere to find the dress of your dreams.

…the dress goes missing on the flight to your wedding destination?
Although many airline carriers accommodate brides marrying abroad by allowing dresses to go as hand luggage, not all will do so. Unfortunately, some couples’ worst nightmares come true when they are left standing at the luggage carousel wondering where their suitcase has gone. Insurance will cover the cost of the missing items.

…your wedding abroad is put in jeopardy?
The number of couples getting married abroad is increasing, and just as this type of wedding has charms all its own, it also poses unique challenges. Couples have experienced airport delays and missed getting to their wedding venue on time, luggage has gone missing or extreme weather conditions have prevented ceremonies taking place. The average cost of marrying abroad is around £3,000 – an amount that many couples could not afford to lose should something go wrong.

People think nothing of insuring cars for thousands of pounds, so why not a wedding? With policies starting from a one-off payment of £45, it makes sense to have some cover in place – if only for your peace of mind. And, of course, one final piece of advice. As with all insurance policies, it pays to read the policy terms and conditions thoroughly so you know exactly which claims will be paid and which will be excluded.

This information was provided by Tim O'Mara at E&L Insurance (www.eandl.co.uk/wp)

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