I used to think of wedding insurance as a bad omen. Why spend money taking out an insurance policy against a wedding? Surely this just means that you might have second thoughts and that it creates a layer of doubt between yourself and your wife / husband to-be? In actual fact, wedding insurance protects you from a lot more than changing your mind…
What Does Wedding Insurance Cover?
Failure of Suppliers – If you are a personal finance whizz-kid, then chances are you have tried to save some costs on your big day. If you are reading this blog in the first place, chances are you won’t be hiring a wedding planner to take care of everything or opting for the venues ‘all-inclusive’ package. By going to the effort of arranging different elements of the day yourself, you may reduce the overall cost, but unfortunately you increase the risk of things going wrong. Insurance will protect you against the wedding cakemaker who can’t make a cake, or the florists who can’t arrange flowers! While you might not quickly live down the embarrassment of getting wed in an old dress because your dressmaker let you down, at least you can get some cash back to help forget it!
Loss or Damage – Like any event, there is a risk of loss or damage to property and/or persons! A wedding is no different. The harsh reality is that thieves are opportunistic and will thrive in stealing at a happy event where people are relaxed and a bit less on-guard than usual. In addition to thieves, weddings often involve the consumption of large volumes of alcohol, which in turn can lead to ‘accidents’
Wedding Rings – Tradition has it that the best man holds the rings until they are required at the ceremony. If they lose the rings, not only are they going to be devastated, but will likely have to shell out a fortune to replace them! I made the unfortunate mistake of losing my wedding ring shortly after getting married – and let me tell you, Mrs Scot was not amused!!
Wedding Gifts – I bet this is something that you haven’t thought about much before? With the number of guests attending weddings often exceeding 100 and the average spend over $100 – there is a lot of money sitting at that gift table! That’s not to mention the number of close family members and friends who exceed this generosity by a mile!
Cancellation or Re-arrangement – Contrary to popular belief, there can often be a perfectly valid reason to cancel or re-arrange a wedding. As regular readers will know, I got married in Thailand about 18 months ago – and had there been horrific weather, this could have been a real possibility for us. Another couple that I met on holiday a year ago have recently got married in Fiji. Unfortunately the groom-to-be got hit by a forklift truck at work a few days before and ended up attending the services in a cast and crutches. This couple didn’t take out insurance.
The Savvy Verdict
I was a bit naive back when we were planning our wedding and assumed that things would go smoothly. Luckily for me, they did. In hindsight, I would definitely take out some sort of a wedding insurance policy to be on the safe side. Statistically speaking, it is unlikely that you will ever need to claim – but a LOT is at stake on the biggest day of your life.
I should probably think about getting it. We are having an outdoor wedding and the possibility of it flooding is probably 50%.
Speaking as a photographer, re-scheduling is something that generally difficult to do. Schedules fill up months in advance, but margins are thin so non-refundable deposits are what we have to do to keep roofs over our families’ heads.
Insurance helps cover this sort of thing, but at the same time, it won’t help you if your photographer can’t accommodate your new date. Thus, you’d have to book somebody else, and payout another non-refundable deposit.
I kind of think it’s a waste of money but then again I do no of some weddings that didn’t end up happening so maybe it’s a good idea?
It must be one of those ‘In Hindsight’ moments!! 🙂