What it covers and why you should invest in it!

When you are planning a wedding you have many items on your checklist to do, to buy, or to book. Like finding your wedding venue, and wedding dress, and choosing the cake and flowers. These are all new, exciting, and fun things to do during the wedding planning process. Then there are the nut and bolts of wedding planning to check off your list as well. Important items like the budget, logistics, and timeline are not as much fun to think about. So we are here to help you with one area that you may not have even thought about yet. Purchasing wedding insurance.

Wedding Insurance is one of the items that most couples do not think about, but it is highly recommended by wedding planners and venues. Weddings are events with a lot of logistics and moving parts and it is very possible that something might go awry. It is best to plan for the unexpected and be prepared for any issues that may arise on your wedding day. It could be the weather, a no-show vendor, an injured guest, or even a postponement. Take for instance a worldwide pandemic. None of us saw that coming!

When the Covid 19 virus shut down the world, many weddings were canceled or postponed. And cancellation insurance was no longer available to purchase. So many couples had to pay extra fees for rescheduling their weddings. And many had to reschedule their weddings more than one time. So that was a lot of extra money for couples to shell out to their venues and vendors. Money they did not have set aside or budgeted for!

To eliminate the worry of the unforeseen that might occur, purchasing wedding insurance should be a definite item on your list. To help you understand wedding insurance, we checked in with one the largest Insurance Companies, Markel Insurance to get more information about wedding insurance. What it is exactly and why do you need it? There are two different types of wedding insurance, Liability Insurance and Cancellation Insurance and we will explain both of them for you!

Wedding Liability Insurance is important to have because it covers your liability if something unexpected happens out of your control and you are held responsible for it. For example, it can help you to avoid a financial loss if the venue you have booked sustains damage or someone is injured at your wedding. While we hope these don’t happen at your wedding, you can be covered if they do. Here are three pros to obtaining Liability Insurance:

1. You can be covered up to $2 million dollars.
2. You can be covered for your rehearsal dinner, ceremony, and reception.
3. You can add your venue as an “additional insured” for no additional cost.

Here is an example of Markel’s Liability coverage:

“A confetti cannon left stains on the venue’s dance floor. Our wedding liability insurance policy paid out almost $3,000”.

What a shock it would be to return home from your honeymoon to receive an invoice to pay for the damage to the venue! Avoid this by protecting yourself in advance, so there are no surprises after your wedding day!

Wedding Cancellation Insurance is very important to have in case you have to postpone or cancel your wedding due to illness, weather, or other vendor/venue issues. Here are the pros to obtaining Cancellation Insurance:

1. You can be reimbursed for the non-refundable vendor deposits
2. You can be covered for damage to your wedding attire and jewelry.
3. You can be covered for lost/stolen gifts.

Here is an example of Markel Cancellation’s coverage:

“California Wildfires destroyed a winery where an insured was hosting their wedding. Our wedding cancellation policy paid out almost $37,000 which allowed the couple to proceed with their wedding at a new location”.

As you can see you are not in control of mother nature or a vendor’s mishap. But you can be in control to buy a wedding insurance policy before your wedding to protect yourself. It is a piece of mind in case something should happen to cancel or postpone your wedding. You would purchase home or car insurance to protect those valuable assets that you own. So we recommend protecting one of the most important and memorable days of your life, your wedding day!

We have given you the information about what wedding insurance covers and now we will let you know when you should purchase it! As with all of your wedding planning, the sooner the better. Once you start to book your vendors are when we suggest purchasing your wedding insurance. However, Markel will even let you purchase the policy up to one day before your wedding!

The cost of your wedding insurance policy will vary from state to state, so it is best to get a quote. Liability Insurance prices can range from $75 to $235. Cancellation Insurance policies can start at $130. Cancellation Insurance is not available in all areas, so it is a very important question to ask.

You should do your due diligence researching wedding insurance companies just as you would for your wedding vendors. Each company will have different deductibles and policies and some might include a change of heart cancellation clause due to “cold feet”! So reach out to a few of them for quotes to compare the coverages available and choose the one that is the best fit for you!

To help you make the best decision here is a link with a few frequently asked questions about wedding insurance. https://www.markelinsurance.com

There are a few other wedding insurance companies that offer comprehensive coverage:

www.wedsafe.com

www.wedsure.com

www.eventhelper.com

You can also check with your own homeowner’s policy to see if they also provide wedding insurance.

Wedding planning can be overwhelming with so many choices to make. One of the most important choices should be protecting your wedding investment with wedding insurance. With this investment, you can rest assured that your day will be covered by a reputable insurance company that will help you if you have to file an insurance claim due to an expected wrinkle in your wedding plans.

If you would like help choosing wedding insurance, Gloria Schulz Events can provide you with more informamtion. Contact Gloria today at: www.gloriaschulzevents.com/contact

Photo by Abby Byrd Photography