Rescheduling your wedding day? Have you considered insuring your special day and would it be helpful in a pandemic situation? Here’s what you need to know.

What is wedding insurance?

Similar to auto or home insurance, wedding or event insurance protects your investment and reimburses you for covered unexpected expenses.

What does wedding insurance cover?

The short answer— specifics vary by policy. Below are some examples of what might be covered by an event policy.

• Emergency hospitalization of the bride or groom, requiring you to postpone

• Severe weather causing closures of interstates and/ or rural roads

• Bankruptcy of venue or other vendors

• Natural disasters

• Military deployment

What kind of policies can be purchased?

Generally speaking, there are two types of coverage: liability and cancellation. Liability insurance releases you from legal responsibility of any accidents or injuries connected to your ceremony or reception. Some venues require that you provide this. Cancellation is more thorough, reimbursing all monies paid toward your wedding (minus policy deductible) when cancellation is necessary due to a covered event or situation.

How much is wedding insurance?

Again, that depends. You can plan for $100 for the bare bones liability coverage and upwards of $500 to $1000 for a $20,000 policy. A more expensive wedding requires a more expensive policy.

What about COVID?

Ah, the elephant in the room. There is no clear answer. Some policies may cover pandemic related cancellations/ postponements, and others may not.

Here’s what WedSafe, a leading wedding insurance provider, had to say about COVID-related coverage:

"Because of the fluid nature of the situation, coronavirus claims must be handled on a case by case basis to properly assess what coverage is applicable to each bride and groom, due to the endless variables and scenarios that can arise," said Steve Lauro, vice president of Aon's WedSafe program. "Like most insurance, cancelling for the fear of something potentially happening, including coronavirus concerns, would typically not be a covered reason for cancellation. Also, given the news coverage and official designation as a pandemic, it is considered a known event, which would likely preclude any coverage for policies sold after a certain date in time."

"WedSafe is focused on helping brides and grooms protect their special day and continues to offer the often-required Wedding Liability policies," said Lauro. "Every policy is different, so we encourage couples to read their terms and conditions carefully, contact us with any questions – and most of all do everything they can to stay well and safe during this challenging time."

For the most part, no insurance company will sell you a policy at this point that covers anything COVID-19 related. COVID is now a “known effect” and is precluded from most policies. For more information about wedding insurance, check out the Consumers Advocate website linked here.

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