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Many insurers won't cover cancelling your wedding because of a notifiable disease. That includes Covid-19.
You won't be covered for your honeymoon either, but you might be able to claim on your travel insurance, instead.
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Wedding insurance provides cover for damages, losses, injuries and cancellations that occur in the build up to a wedding or during a wedding.
This may include incidents such as a venue cancelling, caterers failing to deliver, or wedding rings being lost or stolen.
In the event of a claim, wedding insurance will cover the costs of re-arranging the wedding, or reparing/replacing items that are damaged or lost.
Your wedding insurance policy will cover loss or damage due to unforeseen circumstances, like fire damage to the wedding dress or lost rings.
A wedding insurance policy should also cover you for:
Policies won’t cover you if you cancel due to cold feet, financial difficulty, a pre-existing medical condition for you, the groom or anyone else in the wedding party, or something minor going wrong.
The average cost of a wedding was £24,000[1]
The cost of your wedding insurance depends on factors like:
If you’re using a wedding planner, they might offer you wedding insurance alongside their services, but it’s worth shopping around online to make sure you get the right cover for the best price.
There are some simple steps to follow when choosing and buying wedding insurance:
Try some of our wedding insurance specialists to find cover that suits you.
Some department stores also offer wedding cover, or you might be able to get it through your house insurance policy.
Wedding budgets come in all sizes, so it’s important to make sure you get the right level of cover.
Wedding insurers will usually have policies for several tiers of cover, so you can pick the right amount for what you’re spending.
Wedding costs can easily spiral, so make sure you’re not underinsured and contact your insurer to increase your level of cover if costs do go up higher than expected.
If you don’t take out wedding insurance, you might still have some financial protection if things go wrong.
Your home insurance might cover some aspects of your wedding, like your rings and gifts, so check your policy.
So long as you can afford the repayments, buying anything costing between £100 and £30,000 directly from the supplier with a credit card means you’re protected by the Consumer Credit Act.
If it’s not already covered under your wedding insurance, don’t forget to arrange your travel insurance for peace of mind over your honeymoon.
Most wedding insurance policies allow you to take out cover up to two years before you’re planning on getting married.
It’s a good idea to get cover as early as possible, so you’ll be covered from the early planning stages right through to your big day.
You can also buy wedding insurance days before the ceremony, even if you’ve already paid out for the venue and other expenses – but you can’t then claim for something that’s already gone wrong or that you knew was going to happen.
Oversees wedding insurance policies offer the same cover as domestic ones. Things like venue cancellation or supplier failure.
But they often include more specific cover for weddings abroad too. Such as delayed travel cover or essential document indemnity for replacement of documents needed to get married abroad.
Overseas wedding policies may include exclusions for some countries, so always check the policy details before you buy.
Helping you find the right cover for your wedding day
You rely on numerous people to make your wedding day special, so there’s lots of opportunity for something to go wrong.Ceri McMillan - Home insurance expert
Wedding insurance is the easiest way to protect yourself in the run-up to your big day, but make sure that the level of cover you decide on is right for you
Reduce the size of your guest list, make your invitations and stock the bar yourself
Decreasing the amount of financial compensation you’d require for cancellation and failure of suppliers may result in a lower premium
Unless required, don’t add extras like increased public liability cover, marquee cover or ceremonial swords cover
Overseas wedding and reception cover will often incur extra charges
Compare insurance from a number of providers to find the right deal at the right price
[1] Bridebook.com: The Ultimate Wedding Budget Breakdown. Bridebook. Retrieved February 2022.