It is said that the average cost of having a wedding is anywhere between $20,000 to $27,000. Just as if you were buying a new car, purchasing wedding insurance is a smart decision just in case things don’t go as smoothly as you were hoping.
Here are a few things to do when purchasing wedding insurance.
Clearly Understand What Will Be Covered.
While wedding insurance will cover many unforeseen circumstances, there are others situations that it will not. It is important to know this in advance before purchasing a wedding insurance policy from any Insurer.
Situations That Will Usually Be Covered By Wedding Insurance
Serious illness of the bride or the groom or death of the bride or grooms parents will usually be covered but some policies have an exclusion on pre-existing conditions. They will also usually cover lost or damaged bridal wear, the bankruptcy or closing of a catering hall, photographer, wedding gown shop, florist, or other vendors, stolen or damaged wedding gifts, or weather related occurrences such as hurricanes that can prevent the venue from having your reception.
Situations that will usually not be covered by wedding insurance
Change of heart on the part of the bride or the groom. Most insurance companies will give insurance for circumstances they believe are beyond the control of the bride or the groom. Change of mind or heart does not usually fall under this category. Another reason for this exclusion on the part of the insurance company is to prevent occurrences of fraud.
There are however a few insurance companies that might be having a change of heart of their own and considering change this policy under special circumstances. As of this writing, Fireman’s Fund is considering changing this policy under certain circumstances.
Shop Around and Compare Prices
Just as in any other circumstance where you might want to purchase insurance, it is important to shop around for the best policies and prices. There are quite a few insurance companies that offer wedding insurance. All you need to do is search Google under “Wedding Insurance Companies” and a bunch of options will be displayed.
It is important however to ask each company what the cost of the insurance is, detailed questions about what would be covered and not covered and to carefully read every word of their policy to confirm that it says the same thing you agreed to verbally.
Ensure That You Protect Yourself To Be Able to Get Back As Much Money As Possible
Even if you do purchase wedding insurance, there are limitations on how much insurance companies will pay out in claims. To ensure that you get as much money back as possible, it is important that you do your best to make sure the claims are as small as you can make them. For example:
Do your best to not pay for anything with cash or a check.
Use a credit card as often as possible. This way, if a company declares bankruptcy, goes out of business or does not fulfill their contractual obligation you have the ability to dispute or stop the payment.
Leave as little a deposit as possible when booking.
While most vendors have a minimum deposit requirement, do your best not to give them more money than is required earlier than it is required. As tempted as you might be to want to pay it off, it is a better idea to keep the money in a special wedding account in the bank. This way, if something falls through, it is that much less that you will have to try and get refunded.
Always Check with the Better Business Bureau before giving any money to a vendor.
Doing this can save you a lot of future heartache. If the vendor has had major problems with clients in the past, it is best that you know this beforehand.
Purchasing a wedding insurance policy is a wise thing to do as long as you do your research ahead of time. Hopefully you will never need to use it, but it’s better to have the peace of mind knowing that you have this backup in case any unforeseen circumstances do arise.