Protecting Your Big Day: Wedding Insurance Cost and Coverage

Planning a wedding is a journey based on joy, love and anticipation of the future. However, wedding planning is also based on a budget. Your special day is one of the biggest one-time expenses you will ever make. It is only logical that you would want to protect your investment in case something out of your control happens.

Wedding insurance is a practical factor couples must consider before their big day. As people have now seen in the recent years, anything can happen. You may meticulously plan every wedding detail, but the universe will have other plans. Read on to learn about the wedding insurance cost and coverage factors.

What is Wedding Insurance?

Wedding insurance provides financial protection and coverage for unforeseen events that could affect your special day. This insurance gives couples peace of mind, knowing they are financially protected no matter what happens on their wedding day. 

What is the Average Wedding Insurance Cost?

Insurance costs can vary between different providers. Moreover, the cost can also depend on how much coverage you want for your wedding. These are the average wedding insurance costs:

• Postponement or Cancellation: Anywhere from $90 to $1,000
• Liability: Around $165 to $200 ($1 – $2 million coverage)
• Additional Coverage: Starts at $25 to $75 per coverage 
• Change of Heart Coverage: Around $125 to $170

What Does Wedding Insurance Cover?

Wedding insurance covers most things that can go wrong in a wedding. You can also pay for extra coverage, including other factors like your honeymoon, wedding dress, jewelry and more. 

Postponement or Cancellation

Postponement or cancellation insurance protects you financially if you need to postpone or cancel your wedding. This insurance applies to unforeseen circumstances surrounding the most essential aspects of your wedding, like the venue or caterer. Here are some of the factors that insurance covers:

• Vendor issues: If a vendor, like the caterer, baker, planner, etc., goes out of business or fails to provide the services agreed upon
• Venue issues: If the venue is destroyed by a fire, natural disaster or other unexpected event and can no longer be used for the wedding
• Severe weather: Coverage for extreme weather conditions, such as hurricanes, heavy snow or anything that makes the wedding unsafe
• Illness, injury or death: Illness, injury or death of key persons, such as the couple, immediate family or someone in the wedding party
• Transportation: In case something happens to the vehicle needed to go to the venue
• Accommodations: If the hotel or other accommodations for the wedding are unavailable due to unforeseen circumstances
• Military Deployment: If the bride or groom (or both) serve in the military and the government calls upon them to serve

Liability

Liability insurance covers any property damage or injuries during your wedding. An example would be a guest slipping on the dance floor and injuring themselves. Another example would be a guest getting too intoxicated and destroying a part of the venue.

Special Coverages

You can pay extra for additional coverage options. Here are some additional things insurance providers can cover for an extra fee:

• Attire: Coverage for the bride, groom and wedding party’s attire in case of accidental damage or non-delivery from vendors
• Personal property: If any expensive property like watches or jewelry is damaged or stolen during your wedding
• Wedding ring: If your wedding ring is damaged or stolen
• Gifts: Coverage for when your wedding gifts are stolen from the venue
• Photos and Videos: If your photos and videos end up not being viable (e.g. the photographer breaks their camera, the files become corrupted, the film gets exposed, etc.) Also applies if the quality of the photos is substandard like every picture is blurry or out of focus
• Honeymoon: Some, but not all, providers cover honeymoons. Most of the time, you will need travel insurance to cover your honeymoon.

What Isn’t Covered by Wedding Insurance?

There are some things that wedding insurance providers will not cover. Of course, it will vary from one provider to another, but here are some of the most common reasons that aren’t covered:

Lack of Funds

Your insurance will not cover costs if you cannot pay for your venue, transportation, accommodations, and vendors. An exception will be if the couple can’t pay the fees due to involuntary unemployment.

Less Severe Weather

Even though rain can make everything muddy and put a damper on your special day, it’s not covered by wedding insurance. Only extreme weather conditions are covered by cancellation and postponement insurance. However, some providers provide weather insurance for an additional fee. You can ask different companies for which one can cover minor weather events.

Change of Heart

Unfortunately, getting cold feet isn’t covered by wedding insurance. If you or your fiance decide to cancel the wedding for any reason, the policy won’t cover any expenses you may have incurred during planning.

Some insurance providers cover cancellations based on change of heart, but only if the couple cancels one year in advance. The payout will also only be available for independent financers of the wedding. If the couple’s parents paid for the wedding, they can get a payout. However, if the couple themselves paid for the wedding, the coverage will not apply.

Risky Activities

If you’re adventurous, you might want some thrilling activities for your wedding. However, if the policy provider deems them risky, they won’t cover damage from those activities. Some examples of risky elements include extreme sports activities, stunts, trampolines, animals or firearms.

Is Wedding Insurance Worth it?

Weddings can cost a lot. Currently, the average wedding costs around $34,000. It’s a sound financial decision to insure your wedding. You should do all you can to protect yourself financially in case of emergencies and other unexpected events.

Secure Your Special Day

Getting wedding insurance is a prudent step to protect one of your and your fiance’s biggest investments. Wedding insurance can give you peace of mind and assurance during your big day. When you start planning your wedding, inquire with some providers about insurance packages you can avail of.