Lightening strikes your reception tent.

The bounce house company no-shows your charity event.

Your photographer is rear-ended driving home from the wedding and the camera is ruined.

An unforeseen pandemic causes your ceremony to be postponed a year and vendors wont give refunds.

What do you do? Can you afford to “eat” the lost cost of unforeseen disaster?

Wedding & Event Insurance may help protect against not only the financial impact of unforeseen cancellation or postponement, but also against vendors who do not fulfill their obligations. For example, if one of your vendors goes out of business right before your wedding, you’d be able to get your deposit back.

Also, Not all wedding vendors carry their own insurance. The bridal couple should ask vendors to have their carrier send proof of insurance and find out their liability limits. When contracting with vendors, ask to have their insurance company send you a copy of their professional liability policy, and consider only hiring a vendor that carries insurance.

So… What are the basic types of wedding insurance available, and what do they cover?

• Event Liability & Property Damage Insurance is required by many wedding venues and may protect you if you are held financially liable for property damage, bodily injury, or alcohol-related accidents arising out of your wedding.
• Event Cancellation/Postponement Insurance offers coverage for nonrefundable expenses or lost deposits should the event need to be cancelled due to extreme weather, unexpected illness, military leave, and other serious situations.
• Host liquor liabilitySocial host liquor liability refers to the liability individuals assume as a host if they hold a social gathering where alcohol is provided, but guests aren’t paying for it. It covers individuals, not businesses, and is typically included in homeowner’s and renter’s insurance policies but those limits are generally not enough.

Not all wedding insurance policies are the same, just as not all weddings are the same. When choosing a wedding insurance policy, here are some factors to consider:

• Does the policy cover destination weddings?

What specifically does the insurance cover? If there are particular reasons the wedding couple is concerned about, including protecting the venue deposit or covering costs if the groom bails before the big day (called “cold feet” or “change of heart” clause), make sure the policy covers those particulars.

When purchasing insurance here are a few more things to know…

• When should insurance be purchased? Some policies can be purchased up until the wedding date, but many require purchase at least 15 days in advance. Find out if there are advantages to purchasing the insurance a year or two out.
• What are the limits for each category of coverage? Policies may have different levels of coverage, with limits to how much is covered in each category including deposits, special attire, gifts and photography. The more expensive the wedding, the higher the limits should be.
• What is the deductible? Just like car insurance and homeowners’ insurance, the policy may have a deductible when filing a claim. Find out what it is so there are no surprises.
• Does homeowner’s insurance cover the liability? Sometimes homeowners’ policies provide general special event coverage, including a wedding but the policy may have exclusions, such as the wedding has to be at the family home. It may be more effective to purchase a freestanding wedding liability policy that won’t affect future homeowners’ policy premiums in the event of a wedding claim.

Insurance is important for every aspect of your life and wedding and special events are no different.

Call or come by for a quote today.