It’s no secret that wedding insurance is a hot topic with us at Jubilee Events! We discuss a policy — rather insist on one — with every single one of our couples! You can track the evidence here and here. Your wedding day is a moment in your history that you invest so much in, both financially and emotionally! The best gift you can give yourselves is protection for you and your day.

What is Wedding Insurance and Do I Need It?

Merely suggesting a policy was a thing of the past, especially after we celebrated a wedding smack dab in the middle of Hurricane Irene and Hurricane Sandy! As years went on, we’ve experienced just about every type of scenario that could cause a wedding to be cancelled or postponed. Now, it’s the first step we manage with our clients once their date and venue are booked! Think about it: you insure the things you invest in, not just financially, but also with your time. Your home, your cars, your jewelry! These things carry sentimental value and your wedding day falls under the same category.

In light of what’s currently happening in our world with COVID-19, we are seeing many couples forced to postpone their wedding and modify their plans entirely. As overwhelming, stressful, and heartbreaking as it is, this serves as a wonderful example for how insurance — especially a cancellation policy — has your back!

To answer our own question: YES! You do need wedding insurance, specifically a liability policy and a cancellation policy.

What’s the Difference Between Policies?

• Liability Insurance: Generally required from your venue, this pays for damages that may occur at your location during the event in which you or your guests are responsible. It can even cover medical costs should a guest be injured or fall ill at your event. We always see this coverage include liquor liability and if it’s not automatically included, ask your provider about adding it on. Your caterer or bar provider will carry the same policy, but this will further protect you in the case an unfortunate situation arises due to a drunken guest during or following the event.

• Cancellation Policy: This protects you in case you have to cancel or postpone your wedding for any reason outside of your control. Some of these examples include illness, military deployment, weather, strike, injury, and more. It protects your investments you’ve made and covers those nonperishables, like food and flowers! If even goes beyond that cancelled or postponed date by aiding in costs towards a new venue.

Both cover you in different ways, but provide the same sense of protection you will need. All of those worst case scenarios, unexpected blunders, and mishaps that somehow happen, insurance is there for you.

What Does a Cancellation Policy Cover?

Great question — I’m so glad you asked!

A CANCELLATION POLICY COVERS:

• severe weather – this would render it impossible for venues to operate or guests and professionals to travel to your event
• sudden illness of an immediate family member
• lost/ nonrefundable deposits – this covers you in the event that a venue or vendor goes out of business. It also protects you in the event any part of your wedding weekend is cancelled or postponed due to matters outside of your control
• damaged wedding attire
• damage to wedding photos or videos
• damaged or stolen gifts
• extra expenses – for example, a last minute rental of emergency backup generators for a venue that’s lost power

A CANCELLATION POLICY DOES NOT COVER:

• loss or theft of wedding rings – many wedding insurance policies cover special jewelry, but your wedding bands do not fall under this category! These should be covered under a homeowner’s policy.
• inclement weather – while rain during during an outdoor wedding is nowhere on the list of ideals, this would not be covered
• recovering a deposit after switching to a different vendor by own choice

Where Should I Get Wedding Insurance?

We always recommend WedSafe, though we see many who add a policy under their home or auto insurance. The best thing we can advise is to get a quote from both and ensure you’re comparing apples to apples. A platform such as WedSafe specializes in the finer nuances of events, so their policies are a bit more robust for what you’ll need.

We know thinking about the not-so-fun things of planning can be, well, not-so-fun, but the best gift you can give yourself and your guests is the sense of protection, especially with a day that holds so much emotion and value already!

As always, if you have any questions, please reach out and ask!! We’re here to help!