Wedding Planner
The actual cost of insurance is quite small in comparison to the total cost. Protecting the investments you’ve made only makes sense.
You’ve planned your dream wedding on the shore of a picturesque lake. It’s the week before – the tent’s up, the electric is run and the chairs and tables are ready for your guests. You can almost hear the clinking of the cocktail glasses as the birds fly over the still water.
Then an F2 tornado rips through the landscape as quickly as you can say “The Wizard of Oz.” Only it’s not a movie. It’s your one and only wedding.
“The tent ended up in the lake, tables were twisted around trees, chairs blown to bits,” said Cyndi Basker, wedding planner and owner of Celebrated Events.
“With 48 hours before the wedding was supposed to take place, everything was in complete shambles. Luckily, the rental vendor had provided (and continues to provide) the client with an option to pay for event insurance to cover everything they would be providing. Luckily, the client purchased it and it literally saved the day,” Basker said.
A SMALL PRICE TO PAY
No one likes to think about what could go wrong on this most perfect of days, but the reality is something different. Experts advise purchasing wedding insurance – ranging from $100 to $1,000 – to cover the unexpected, unforeseen events that no one can predict.
“Wedding insurance hedges against the unforeseen,” Basker said, mentioning extreme weather, a vendor going out of business the week of the wedding, theft and other rather unpleasant scenarios that can crop up. “I think it is something that can definitely provide brides, grooms and their families with a level of comfort and a means of recourse if things don’t go according to plan.”
With average 2013 weddings running about $29,000, the actual cost of insurance is quite small in comparison to the total cost. Protecting the investments you’ve made only makes sense.
WHAT CAN GO WRONG
Experts advise that all policies are different, but the main issues they see are weather and vendor problems. According to an article in Insurance Journal, 58 percent of Travelers claims involved the photographer or videographer and 21 percent the caterer. The other 11 percent pertained to DJs or other miscellaneous issues.
Peace of mind is comforting when planning a wedding, according to insurance experts. What if your fiancée suddenly had to report to duty in Afghanistan or your photographer was injured in an accident? What if Uncle Jim has a little too much to drink and falls on the dance floor during the reception?
Other possibilities: lost, stolen or damaged dresses, pilfered gifts, vendor deposits lost when vendors don’t show up or misplaced luggage that contains a tux. The possibilities are endless and might cause one or two sleepless nights.
A CHANGE OF HEART
Pam Chichester, Senior Director, Entertainment at Firemen’s Fund, which is based in California, said there is a new form of coverage called “Change of Heart” that, for an additional price, covers deposits and other expenses incurred if the bride or groom gets cold feet and calls off the wedding.
There’s even coverage for professional counseling that might be needed after the cancelation.
Chichester said some other common reasons for needing wedding insurance include vendors and event sites failing to deliver on promises, a caterer who doesn’t show up, loss of the dress by the bridal shop, a photographer who disappears after the wedding or a facility double booking the space (to name just a few).
“Liability insurance is very important and popular,” she said. “The cool feature is you can buy coverage online and pick and choose the coverage you need. The website is: wedsure.com
Chichester said in today’s climate it is not uncommon for venues to require the couple provide a certificate of liability and in some cases require that the wedding ceremony or reception site be listed as an additional insured party. Some real-life liability cases include 40 guests suffering from food poisoning, an elderly guest getting knocked down and breaking both hips, and, of course, car accidents.
While most weddings go off with only minor mishaps – the bride has no ride to the church, for example – wedding insurance exists to provide peace of mind for something that was never intended to happen, but did.
wedding insurance claim data 2012
from Travelers Insurance
3% - military
6% - attire
9% - damage
10% - theft
14% - weather
15% - venue
19% - illness/injury
24% - vendor
Vendor Breakdown { 58% Photo/Video, 21% Caterer, 11% DJ, 5% Wedding Planner, 5% Other}
Businesses Involved
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