Have you ever heard of wedding or event insurance? I hadn't until I was doing my wedding planner training. If you were planning a wedding or event in 2020, you may have learned about special event insurance after the pandemic caused venues to close and governments to restrict gatherings. One analysis by Loanry estimates that couples owe around $3.7 billion dollars for canceled weddings as a result of the pandemic.
Special event insurance covers all kinds of things, from damages and bodily injury to vendor failures, cancellations, and payments. No one wants to imagine all the catastrophes that could happen before or during your wedding or event. If you have wedding or event insurance, you're covered if something does go wrong. The best part is that most policies cost less than a tuxedo rental so it's easy to include event insurance in your budget.
If event insurance is such a good idea and so affordable, how do you get it? It's surprisingly easy to find. Most consumer insurance companies offer wedding insurance, special event insurance, or both. Start with the agent or company that you already have policies with (car, home, renters, etc). Most of them offer special event insurance, including:
Nationwide Wedding (for consumers)
Nationwide Special Event (for businesses or groups)
USAA (for military-connected persons, great for active-duty personnel)
There are also companies that specialize in wedding or special event insurance. These companies are a great option if your current insurer doesn't offer these types of policies or if you just want more comprehensive coverage. Here are a few of them:
Wedsure (weddings only, but tons of coverages and options)
WedSafe (weddings only, featured on many wedding planning and advice websites)
Private Event Insurance (quinceañeras, bar or bat mitzvahs, and corporate events)
Eventsured (weddings and special events)
When you're shopping for wedding or event insurance, be sure to check not only the coverages but the exclusions too. Exclusions are the things your policy won't cover or the reasons they won't provide coverage. Some companies, like Merkel, are specifically excluding communicable diseases from their policies because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
If your venue requires you to purchase insurance, make sure your policy meets their requirements too. Carbon Creek does not require our clients to purchase liability insurance, but we highly recommend it. Our insurance policies cover us, not our clients or their guests so it's important to have your own policy.