Have a stress-free wedding.

It's a good idea to sit down and work out exactly what you would like your insurance to cover then shop around to see what suits your needs. Here is a list of some of the major insurance providers and their cover policies:

Marks & Spencer

• Four tiers of cover.
• Prices: £59 to £189.
• Unavoidable cancellation: They will pay up to £5,000 for the lowest tier and £17,500 for the highest tier.
• Rearrangement: They pay up to 75% of the cost of the original service.

Debenhams

• Four tiers of cover (Gold, Platinum, Diamond and Diamond Plus).
• Prices: £55 to £330.
• Unavoidable cancellation: They pay up to £9,000 for the lowest tier and up to £70,000 for the highest tier.
• Rearrangement: They pay up to 75% of the original cost of the service.

Ecclesiastical

• Four tiers of cover.
• Prices: £48 to £160.
• Unavoidable cancellation: They pay up to £5,000 for the lowest tier and up to £24,000 for the highest tier.
• Rearrangement: They pay up to 50% of the cost of the original service.

Greenbee (John Lewis Partnership)

• Twelve tiers of cover
• Prices: £46.34 to £355.22
• Unavoidable cancellation: They pay up to £5,000 for the lowest tier and up to £50,000 for the highest tier.
• Rearrangement: They pay up to 75% on the lowest tier and 60% on the others.

DON'T FORGET that formost claims, e.g. for damaged/stolen wedding gifts, flowers and photographs, you will have to pay an excess which means that you'll have to pay a certain amount of money towards any claim. For example at Debenhams the Gold and Platinum tiers do not cover the first £25 and both Diamond tiers do not cover the first £50. Also do check the policy thoroughly for any other exclusions.

Get the best deal

Obviously the bigger and more expensive your wedding is, the higher the level of cover you will need. The pricier cover levels will pay out more money if something goes wrong so it's not worth buying an expensive policy that pays out more than you need it to. At the same time it may be better to spend a little extra on a higher cover level so that if anything unfortunate happens the insurance policy actually makes a difference when it comes to paying for any damage.

Best for basic cover:

Unlike most insurers Marks & Spencer DO NOT expect you to pay an excess so you will not have to put any money towards any claims. This is really fantastic, if for example your wedding gifts are lost or damaged, because with other policies you would have to pay towards each claim. They will pay for these presents for up to seven days prior to the wedding and 24 hours after the reception.

Best for weddings abroad:

Both Debenhams and Greenbee provide their insurance for a wedding abroad. However Marks & Spencer and Ecclesiastical only cover weddings in Great Britain, including the Channel Islands and Isle of Man.

Best for extensive cover: 

Debenhams' Diamond Platinum cover certainly isn't cheap at £330 but it does pay up to £20,000 more for cancellation than Greenbee's highest cover (level 12) which actually costs more at £355.22. However don't forget that this isn't good for a small, cheaper wedding.

Best for choice:

Greenbee have a massive 12 levels of cover compared to the measly four options from the other insurers we looked at. This may make it easier for you to find a level of cover to suit your budget and give you the protection you want.

Discounts and offers:

Make sure you check regularly for discounts and special offers. Debenhams currently have a 10% online discount. Also, if you create your wedding list with them, they will provide you with cover for those gifts for three months (one month before the wedding and two months after).

Other options

As long as you can afford to pay it off, use your credit card to pay your suppliers and ask your guests to buy their gifts on credit card, too. This will mean that as long as you've spent over £100 you will be able to claim back money from the credit card company.

Get protection for your wedding with your home insurance. Direct Line automatically increase their home insurance contents for special occasions so that any items for the big day, like your wedding dress, jewellery and gifts before and after the wedding, are protected in your house. Direct Line will automatically increase your contents insurance by either £5,000 or 10% of the contents sum insured (whichever is greatest), for four weeks either side of the wedding.

There are other home insurance providers who have similar policies to cover special occasions, like Christmas and weddings, so for more information see our article on home contents insurance and check our home insurance comparison table.

Related articles

• How to afford and plan your wedding
• Home contents insurance

Useful Links

• Marks & Spencer
• Debenhams
• Greenbee
• Ecclesiastical
• Direct Line