Why do you need it?

Insurance may not be the first thing that springs to mind when planning your wedding, but things can go wrong on your special day, so it’s sensible to get some protection. Here are the top five reasons why couples claim on wedding insurance from one of the leading wedding insurers Ecclesiastical:

1. Damage to clothing including wedding dress and jewellery
2. Cancellation of the wedding
3. Problems with the venue
4. Problems with suppliers e.g. caterers
5. Loss of, or damage to, photographs

Wedding insurance ensures that if any mishaps or unforeseen circumstances occur (except for the bride or groom getting cold feet and running out on the day – God forbid!) you won’t have to lose money and see the whole wedding go down the drain.

How does it work?

As with most insurance policies, there are various levels of cover which increase in price depending on how much protection you want. All levels of cover tend to protect the same things i.e. cancellation and rearrangement fees, wedding attire, cake, gifts, photography/video, flowers and suppliers deposits.

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:

Debenhams

• Five tiers of cover (Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond and Diamond Plus).
• Prices: £39 to £259.
• Unavoidable cancellation: They pay up to £5,000 for the lowest tier and up to £70,000 for the highest tier.
• Rearrangement: They pay up between £3,750 and £52,500 depending on the level of cover
• Buy Debenhams wedding insurance online now for a 10% discount.

Ecclesiastical

• Five tiers of cover.
• Prices: £19 to £260.
• 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% of the cost of the original service.

Greenbee (John Lewis Partnership)

• Six tiers of cover.
• Prices: £65.62 to £277.67
• Unavoidable cancellation: They pay up to £10,000 for the lowest tier and up to £50,000 for the highest tier.
• Rearrangement: They pay up to £7,500 on the lowest tier and £37,500 on the others.

DON’T FORGET that for most 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.

Best buys

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 – but it’s not worth buying an expensive policy that pays out more than you need. At the same time, you want the policy to pay out a reasonable amount, so it may be better to spend a little extra on a higher cover level. That way, if anything unfortunate happens the insurance policy will actually makes a difference when it comes to paying for any damage.

Best all-rounder:

Here at Moneymagpie we really like E&L wedding insurance. There are eight bands of cover to choose from up to £50,000 for cancellation and expenses, it provides cover for weddings at home and abroad, doesn’t charge you an excess (except on public liability and marquee cover where it’s £99) and you’ll get a 35% online discount.

Best for weddings abroad:

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

Best for extensive cover:

Debenhams’ Diamond Plus cover certainly isn’t cheap at £259 but it does pay up to £20,000 more for cancellation than John Lewis’ highest cover (level six) which actually costs more at £277.67. However don’t forget that this isn’t good for a small, cheaper wedding.

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.

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 recommended home insurance comparison table.

Useful Links

• E&L
  
• Debenhams
• John Lewis
• Ecclesiastical
• Direct Line