Wedding Insurance
Your wedding is simultaneously one of the most exciting and stressful days that you may ever have. Recent figures suggest the average wedding costs around £15,000, with the UK's “weddings industry” worth a whopping £3bn a year. Get it right and it will light up your memory forever. Get it wrong and it remain there, like a tuberous growth that you can never quite remove. And that's the main reason for wedding insurance.
Even the best-laid plans can come unstuck. But at this point in your life, more than any other, you don't want a single extra worry.
Wedding Insurance can take this load off your shoulders. Wedding Insurance doesn't just cover the big things (say you had to change the venue, the dress, the date!). It covers almost everything you need to be just right - from the cars to the cake to the flowers.
What's covered by wedding insurance?
- Wedding insurance covers just about everything to do with your big day:
- Damaged wedding attire
- The non-appearance of the photographer, loss or damage to the original film or negative before copies are made and non-development of the original film or negatives.
- Cancellation due to an illness or bereavement of the immediate family
- Failure of the caterers to turn up at the reception
- Lost wedding rings
- Failure of the wedding transport to appear
- Double-booking of the venue
- Public liability property damage (the big wedding fight!)
- Lost or stolen wedding presents
- Financial failure of any wedding suppliers.
Wedding insurance policies essentially do one of two things:
- Either they pay for a replacement, for instance if the caterer goes out of business. Your insurance will make sure you don't lose out.
- Or they pay compensation, for example your photos don't come out. If it is impossible to take new ones, you will receive cash. This may be useful towards paying off the cost of the honeymoon or other wedding expenses.
What's not usually covered?
The bride or groom getting cold feet.
How much does wedding insurance cost?
You pay a one-off premium, and what it’s worth depends on the cost of your nuptials, for example:
At the cheap end, a £40 premium would entitle you to a £3,000 payout if your wedding had to be cancelled for reasons beyond your control.
For a £15,000 wedding, the premium comes to £175. This pays £15,000 if the wedding is cancelled; £2,000 for damage to the dress; and £1,500 for loss of rings during the seven days prior to the nuptials and on the day itself.
An excess of £250 is typically applicable for most policies.
Points to watch out for
If you are getting married in another country, make sure that the wedding is covered, as well as the trip abroad. As many as 20,000 people tie the knot abroad and many of them will be taking expensive rings, clothes, gifts and photographic equipment with them to their destination. Talk to your insurance broker.
The value of a typical wedding list can be anything between £1,000 and £6,000, depending on the number of guests at the wedding. So check the terms of your home contents insurance before going away on honeymoon.
Some insurance companies offer extra cover for wedding presents for up to a month before the day and a month afterwards. But the level of cover differs: a few provide an additional £1,000, others increase your usual cover by 10 per cent. You may have to pay extra for expensive items, like wedding rings, which breach an insurer's “single item limit.
A few extra tips to make sure you minimise the financial fallout of an unsuccessful wedding
- Pay the deposits for the reception and wedding dress on credit, not debit, cards. A credit card issuer will have to refund you if the supplier goes out of business.
- Put in writing everything you expect from each supplier, together with what is included in the price and what is not. This way, there should be no stressful last-minute disagreements.
- Ask the wedding or reception venue to put aside somewhere secure for guests to leave wedding gifts. Ask a friend or relative to look after them - and take them away at the end of the reception.
- Ask the photographer to take digital photos so they can be checked before he or she leaves.
- Have a contingency plan for outdoor weddings in case it rains.
Getting Wedding Insurance
So it makes sense to cover yourself, and one of the most popular high street names now offers Wedding Insurance, it's Marks and Spencer.
Marks and Spencer Wedding Insurance
Cover is available for weddings in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
Up to £17,500 cancellation cover or ask us about bespoke cover
Up to £10,000 legal expenses for contractual disputes
Stress counselling for the bride, groom, their parents or guardians
Marks & Spencer Money can take this load off your shoulders. Our Wedding Insurance doesn't just cover the big things (say you had to change the venue, the dress, the date!). It covers almost everything you need to be just right - from the cars to the cake to the flowers. If you need to make a claim, there'll be no excess to pay. And if you do get into a dispute with one of your contractors, M&S cover any legal expenses up to £10,000.
As stress-free as it can be unlike other providers, M&S also offer stress counselling to help you prepare for one of life's most important events and for extra peace of mind, they won't charge an excess if you do need to claim.
Who can apply? The bride, groom or parents of the bride or groom.
As little as £59 to protect your perfect day
No claims excess
Legal expenses up to £10,000
Dedicated claims helpline and stress counselling
Underwritten by Ecclesiastical Insurance
Apply for Wedding Insurance now or get a quote
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