Savvy Guide to Wedding Insurance

With rising costs of weddings now estimated to be on average £18000 more couples are considering how they can insurance their wedding whether is at home or abroad. There are more and more companies entering the wedding insurance market so we at Budget Savvy Bride have put together this guide to help you by giving you information and facts relating to which companies offer wedding insurance and what factors you should consider when deciding which wedding insurance policy suits your needs.

Why Get Wedding Insurance?

Insurance will not be the first thing that springs to mind when planning your wedding, but things can and do go wrong. If you’re spending a significant amount of money on your wedding, then taking out some form of insurance may be the right path for you to take. Of course we would all like to think that nothing will go wrong but top reasons for wedding insurance claims include:

1. Damages to wedding dress or accessories

2. Cancellation of wedding

3. Suppliers going bust or other forms of supplier failure

4. Problems with the venue

5. Damage to photographs

Obviously, having wedding insurance is not a full proof way to avoid such problems occurring, however if you are planning on spending a substantial sum on your wedding, insuring your wedding is worth considering.

What’s Covered & What’s Not Covered

Ensuring you know what’s covered as part of any wedding insurance policy is a must as starting point. Each wedding insurer will have different inclusions (and exclusions) so of course it’s important you read all the important details to ensure that what ever wedding insurance policy you opt for covers your needs. Most policies on offer cover items such as:

1. Deposits paid for services such as to the venue,

2 Costs of retaking photographs if damaged

3. Costs to replace damaged wedding attire

4. Some for of personal liability cover in the event that your wedding causes damages to individuals or third party property.

What won’t be covered are things like the bride and groom getting cold feet or issues that arose prior to you taking out wedding insurance. Obviously each policy will vary so it is imperative you read the small print and ensure that you will get the cover you need and that the cost of the wedding insurance is worth parting with your hard earned cash for.

Excesses & Optional Extras

Remember to check whether the insurance has an excess if you claim. In particular if you require marquee insurance, this will normally require an additional upfront payment to be made.

Destination Wedding Insurance

Some insurance policies will only cover weddings within the UK where as others will offer coverage for both UK and weddings abroad. If you are planning to get married abroad and wish to take out wedding insurance look for specific insurance companies that will provide insurance for destination wedding. For example, Marks & Spencer do not cover overseas weddings.

Who Offers Wedding Insurance & What’s the Costs

Most main stream insurers do not really offer specific wedding insurance making comparison a bit of a challenge. We have identified the following as the main suppliers of wedding insurance:

DEBENHAMS

• Prices start just £59 up to £149
• 4 levels of cover available – Gold, Platinum Diamond and Diamond plus (up to £30,000 event cover)
• Cover for weddings in the UK and aboard at no extra cost
• Optional cover available for marquees
• Offers an online 10% discount for buying online

CONFETTI

• Prices start at £49 up to £149.
• Cover for weddings in the UK and abroad available.
• Optional cover available for marquees.
• Free book of Wedding Calm with every order online.

MARKS & SPENCER

• Prices from £59 up to £189. 4 levels of cover available
• Up to £17,500 event cover
• Marquee cover available as optional extra but not available on basic cover level
• Cover available in UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man only

GREENBEE (John Lewis)

WEDDINGPLAN

• Prices start from £27.50 up to £99. 4 Levels of cover available
• Cover up to £30,000 for only £99
• Covers weddings abroad and in the UK
• Marquee cover available as optional extra
• Free £20 voucher for Virgins wines with every policy purchased

E&L

• Price start at £26 with cover for up to two years
• Eight bands of cover to choose from, with Cancellation and Expenses cover up to £50,000 available
• Marquee and Ceremonial Sword optional extensions
• Cover available for couples where either
• Overseas wedding insurance policy available
• Policyholders receive a 10% discount voucher for the purchase of wedding products from Forever Memories

ECCLESIASTICAL

• Prices from £30. Five levels of cover available up to £282.
• Coverage up to £50,000 available
• Optional marquee cover available

Alternatives to Wedding Insurance

A smart move is to check out your home insurance and see whether this includes or can be extended to include coverage of any wedding related items such as your dress, rings etc. This could save you a stack of cash as it may be cheaper to do this.

If you’re paying by credit card that can also cover you for some circumstance. You’re credit card provider should provide you with compensation on anything you’ve bought for between £100 and £30,000. This means that in many situations you may already be covered so its a good ideas to check this option out as a possible alternative to wedding insurance.