You’ve heard of home, auto and even pet insurance, but wedding insurance? If you haven’t a clue what that even is, think back to when you booked your Expedia vacation online. You clicked all the way through almost to the end, but before you could finalize your transaction, a pop up asked you if you wanted to buy travel insurance. The fine print was a mile long, but the blurb assured you that you’d be covered in the event of a disaster that forced you to cancel, interrupt, or delay your sunny vacation. Did you click Yes and add a few hundred bucks to the cost of your trip? Or did you click No and hope for the best?

If life were a Choose Your Own Adventure book, you could always turn back and pick an alternate option when things don’t work out. But for your wedding day, even more than for a vacation, stuff can happen that can turn your dream day into a nightmare. Could wedding insurance help you avoid nuptial disaster?

The ins and outs of wedding insurance

Let’s face it, stuff happens that’s beyond your control. Though you may think you can manage even in the face of adverse events, there are some things you simply can’t recover from when it comes to your wedding. For example, heavy rain may put a damper on your event, but what about a flood like the Great Toronto Flood of 2013? That one afternoon, over 100 cm of rain fell, stranding thousands of motorists on flooded-out highways, shutting down part of the subway, and causing a great deal of property damage – and it could have easily flooded a few reception halls, too. How could wedding insurance kick in in the event of a natural disaster like that?

• Weather: Wedding insurance can cover extreme weather conditions which prevent the bride, groom, any key member of the wedding party, an important relative, or a majority of the guests, from reaching the premises. So if any of these key people were stuck on a flooded highway, insurance would cover rescheduling the wedding and reimburse you for lost costs like flowers and food.
• Site: If the ceremony and/or reception site are unusable due to water damage or electrical outage, wedding insurance can cover the cost of a replacement.
• Vendors: If your caterer or priest can’t show up because of the flood, wedding insurance would cover the postponement or cancellation of the wedding.

What else does wedding insurance cover?

Wedding insurance covers more than just unforeseen weather events. Sometimes, sickness or injury can lead you to cancel or postpone the wedding; for example, if the groom gets in a skiing accident before the wedding, or the bride’s mother is diagnosed with cancer prior to the big day, there might be no way the show can go on. Similarly, if armed conflict causes the bride or groom to be called into military service, or if one member of the couple is suddenly relocated for work, wedding insurance can kick in, allowing the couple to reschedule their wedding. More mundane things can trip you up too, like a caterer going out of business or the seamstress irrevocably ruining your dress; you’ll be covered. You can often buy additional, optional coverage to cover special things like the theft of wedding gifts or travel insurance for your honeymoon.

If this all sounds too good to be true, remember, wedding insurance is still insurance. You really don’t want to have to use it. Consider that there is usually a maximum refundable amount – and also a deductible. Restrictions vary, so be sure to do your homework before purchasing a wedding insurance policy. Find out exactly what is covered, how much, under what conditions, and what the deductible is. Find out if there are time limits on claims, how soon you can receive your deposits and monies back in the event of a claim, and what proof is required to submit a claim. Also, if your (reputable!) vendors already have their own insurance, there might be no need to buy a policy.

If you want complete peace of mind, then a comprehensive wedding insurance policy might be for you. The only thing that won’t be covered is cold feet!