Wedding Insurance - A Good Investment or a Waste of Money
Posted by admin on November 11th, 2008 filed in Insurance | Comment now »
You insure your car, your home, your health, and your life. Now you can insure your wedding too. Insurance for your wedding is one of the newest products on the market. But do you really need it, or is it a waste of money?
Wedding insurance has been popular in Great Britain for several years. Today, a number of companies in the U.S. are also offering wedding insurance. Most policies offer varying amounts of coverage for varying fees with the most expensive policy costing less than $400 for a wedding held in this country. If you are planning a destination wedding, coverage can be obtained at a slightly higher fee.
Most insurance policies will insure you against:
Unforeseen weather problems (are you planning a wedding in Florida or the Bahamas during hurricane season?). This must be a major problem that will prevent you from holding the wedding as scheduled or that will prevent a majority of your guests from attending, not an afternoon thunder storm.
Cancellation or postponement of the wedding. If you or the groom is in the military and is called to active duty, you might need to postpone the wedding. One of you or a close family member could be injured in an accident, have a sudden illness, or even die, necessitating a change in wedding plans. Insurance would cover the lost deposits.
Failure of merchants to perform their contracted services. This might include a caterer who goes bankrupt just before the wedding or an event center that closes just before your event. Or perhaps the florist takes your money, then skips the country (all of these things have actually happened to unsuspecting clients). If you have paid a deposit or the full fee to such merchants, you will be reimbursed. Some policies will also cover the cost of legal fees to collect from errant merchants.
Damage to the wedding attire. If the bridal salon catches fire and your gown or your attendants’ gowns are ruined, or the airline sends your gown to Timbuktu, you can be reimbursed.
Photographs and video. If the photographer fails to show up or he neglects to put film in his camera, his equipment is defective, or the video camera doesn’t work, you may be able to recreate the wedding photos at a later date and receive payment for the recreation.
Theft of the wedding gifts or the wedding rings. If you leave your gifts in another room while your ceremony is occurring and they are stolen, or someone breaks into the car in which the gifts are being transported, you can be reimbursed. You can also be reimbursed for loss or theft of the wedding rings, but not the bride’s engagement ring.
Professional counseling. Some policies will pay a limited amount toward counseling if you are left standing at the altar and you need therapy to work through it.
Most policies will not cover the lost deposits if either the bride or groom changes their mind and breaks the engagement.
Before you purchase wedding insurance, check with the company that writes your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy and find out exactly what is covered under that policy. Also check the liability insurance policy at the venue where your wedding will be held. Depending on your coverage, you may not need a separate insurance policy, or your current insurer may be able to add a rider to your existing policy to cover the wedding.
Whether wedding insurance is right for you will depend on your circumstances, but it may be worth the cost, particularly if you are planning a destination wedding.
© Copyright 2004; Glenna Tooman, all rights reserved
Glenna Tooman owns Memory Makers Event Planning, LLC, located in Boise, Idaho. Glenna is an internationally recognized authority on wedding and event planning. She writes extensively on both topics and on issues affecting small businesses.
Tags: event insurance, insurance, marriage, wedding, wedding insuranceWedding Insurance - Financial Protection for the Biggest Day of Your Life
Posted by admin on November 2nd, 2008 filed in Insurance | Comment now »
Like most soon to be married couples, you’ve probably spent months preparing to insure that your wedding day will go smoothly. However, there are events that can take place on or before your wedding day that are beyond your control. An Event Insurance Policy Plan can cover you for unforeseen events, such as and illness in the wedding party, or an act of nature.
Wedding Cancellation Insurance Plans
Most policies will cover the financial impact of rescheduling a wedding reception if cancellation is caused by the following events:
Cancellation Due To Severe Weather
The cost of rescheduling the wedding because of severe weather will be covered only if a majority of your guests can not attend the wedding.
Absence of Key People in the Wedding
You are covered if people critical to the wedding ceremony or reception can not attend because of injury or illness, or if the officiant does not show up.
Military Leave Withdrawn
You have coverage if the wedding must be cancelled because either the bride or groom is called for mandatory military service.
Other Wedding Insurance Coverage
Also be on the lookout for policies which include coverage for the following wedding specific items:
Wedding Photographs and Videos
If the photographer does not show up, the film is defective, or if the negatives are destroyed or lost, the cost of retaking photos is reimbursed.
Wedding Gift Insurance
The insurance policy should cover the loss or theft of your wedding gifts.
Loss of Wedding Deposits
The policy should also include reimbursement of any outstanding deposits should one of your wedding vendors go out of business prior to the wedding day.
Wedding Jewelry and Attire
If the special attire of one of the attendants is lost or destroyed, or special jewelry is lost or stolen.
Additional Expenses
Blanket coverage for unforeseen, extra expenses incurred to side step the cancellation of your wedding.
Professional Counseling
The Event Insurance Policy should cover the cost of doctor recommended counseling for the bride and groom to deal with the stress of a wedding cancellation.
Timing the Purchase of Wedding Event Insurance
You should buy the insurance as soon as you begin making deposits to wedding vendors. Insurance can generally be purchased as late as two weeks prior to the wedding reception date.
Once you have made deposits to all your vendors (most of which are non-refundable) this type of wedding reception event cancellation insurance can protect your investment by insuring you against unexpected events leading up to your big day.
Kenneth Koch is the owner of Your Wedding Place.com, a resource for brides featuring wedding articles and tips. For more wedding finance related articles visit http://www.yourweddingplace.com/wedding-planning/category.php?pg=wedding-finance-ideas.
Tags: cancellation insurance, event, insurance, wedding, wedding gift insurance, wedding insurance, weddingsWhy Is Wedding Insurance So Important
Posted by admin on September 18th, 2008 filed in Insurance | Comment now »Nobody planning their big day would like to think for even one second that something could go wrong. A wedding day should be perfect in every way and nothing should get in the way of perfection. However, it’s important to be realistic about things. The fact is that things do go wrong, venues can get double booked, dresses can get damaged and florists can go out of business. So, what do you want to run the risk of a small problem completely ruining your day? Choosing not to insure your wedding is a big gamble to take, and is it one that you can afford to take?
Your wedding day should be the happiest day of your life. You have spent weeks, months or even years planning the special day and it is your right to enjoy every last bit of it. No-one ever expects that things can go wrong but the fact of the matter is that things can and do go wrong.
Last year, I read an article about a bride who had been meticulously planning her wedding day. She was super organised and had everything right down the wedding favours all bought, paid for and organised. Everything was all done and dusted months in advance and she - like many other brides - was organising a big event on a small budget. Whenever something was on sale, she bought it and stored it to save cost. Unfortunately, however, she made cutbacks when it came to wedding insurance. This is an area in which so many brides decide to take a gamble and not bother splashing out on something that they probably won’t need anyway. But, beware because it could make or break your day as was the case with this poor bride. 4 weeks before her wedding the wedding venue was set alight by some locals. Suffice to say, the entire building including bar area, restaurant area and kitchen area was completely destroyed. Not having opted for wedding insurance, this poor bride not only lost her wedding venue but also her deposit and at such short notice was not able to find a suitable alternative venue. The story did have a happy ending because a close friend had just purchased a plot of land and a barn. The barn had recently been converted and was lying vacant. Her guests rallied round and between them were able to arrange table linen, chairs, decoration and caterers. However, she did end up having to pay through the nose for last minute caterers not to mention the extra expense of calling her guests to advise of the venue location. Despite the dreadful shock and disappointment of this awful tragedy, she had a fabulous wedding day that all went perfectly. But, you may not be so lucky.
Everyone has a budget to stick to when planning a wedding, but when you are making cutbacks try to weigh up which cut backs are sensible and which ones are just silly.
Nearly every wedding goes perfectly but there are weddings that due to circumstances completely out of anyone’s control, where things do go wrong. Best advice is to take out some sort of wedding insurance, even if it only covers the venue, outfits, flowers and photographer. Shop around for the best deal as some wedding insurers do packages from as little as