Wedding Insurance for Extreme Weather: A Guide to Protecting Your Big Day
If you have wedding insurance for extreme weather, it will cover the costs of canceling your wedding and rescheduling it for a later date if a hurricane, blizzard, tornado, wildfire, or similar natural disaster impacts your wedding day.
When extreme weather hits, event cancellation or postponement is often the best or only option to protect yourself, your guests, and your vendors. Making this decision is even more difficult when you take into consideration the huge financial investment you’ve made. Sometimes, when you cancel or postpone, you won’t get back all the vendor deposits you’ve already paid and you may still have to pay some vendors in full.
But, if you have wedding cancellation insurance, you’ll be able to recoup your costs and save a significant amount of money for when you find a new wedding date.
Keep Reading to Find Out…
- What kind of wedding insurance coverage applies to an extreme weather event
- How to cancel wedding events due to extreme weather conditions
- Other wedding insurance coverage you might need to protect yourself from costly unforeseen circumstances
- How to buy wedding insurance
What You Will Learn
- Which Insurance for Weddings Covers Severe Weather?
- Which Weather Events Does Wedding Insurance Cover?
- What to Do If There’s a Bad Weather Forecast for Wedding Activities
- Do You Also Need Event Liability Coverage for Your Wedding?
- Wedding Insurance FAQs
- Say I Do to Special Event Insurance for Your Wedding Day
Which Insurance for Weddings Covers Severe Weather?
There are two primary types of wedding insurance plans — wedding liability insurance and event cancellation insurance — but event cancellation coverage is your best option for recouping costs if you have to cancel your wedding due to dangerous weather.
Wedding event cancellation insurance will cover lost deposits and cancellation fees that may incur for postponing your wedding for any reason.
While each wedding insurance company differs slightly, this type of wedding insurance policy will often cover cancellations and postponements related to not just weather, but also severe and sudden illness, injury, or death within the marrying couple’s immediate family. In some cases, a policy may also provide coverage for a wedding cancellation due to a change of heart.
Which Weather Events Does Wedding Insurance Cover?
What Type of Weather Does Wedding Cancellation Insurance Not Cover?
A wedding cancellation insurance policy will not cover run-of-the-mill severe weather, such as a regular summer thunderstorm, or weather that doesn’t actually pose any danger to your event, even if it’s not your ideal forecast.
Additionally, if you try to purchase wedding insurance after a hurricane is already forecasted to impact your wedding date and venue, the hurricane may be considered a “known event” and might not be covered.
What to Do If There’s a Bad Weather Forecast for Wedding Activities
If the weather for your wedding is looking like it’s going to be a hazard, and you’ve purchased wedding cancellation insurance, you should cancel the wedding as soon as possible and inform your wedding vendors, your wedding insurance agent, and your guests. Here are some key steps to follow:
1. Make the Call to Cancel
Deciding to cancel the entire event can be disheartening, but remember that the safety of your family members and friends is at stake. You can always rebook your wedding ceremony and wedding reception for a later, safer date.
2. Inform Your Vendors and Venues
Once you do make the call to cancel, let your wedding venue (or wedding venues) know first, as they may allow you to immediately rebook a later date. Then, inform the rest of your wedding vendors.
If you do book a new date with your venue, tell your vendors as soon as possible. You should plan for the fact that some may already be booked for the new date, in which case you’ll need to find other vendors on potentially short notice. If you’re working with a wedding planner, they can assist with this process.
3. File a Claim with Your Wedding Insurance Company
Let your wedding insurance provider know that the wedding is canceled ASAP as well. They’ll be able to start processing your covered claim ASAP, so you’re not left scrambling to cover cancellation fees and rebooking costs after you’ve already spent so much of your wedding budget on deposits.
4. Inform Your Guests
Lastly, make sure that your guests know exactly what to expect regarding the cancelled wedding. If it’s already rescheduled, give them the new date. If the wedding is postponed indefinitely, let them know you’ll pass along information as soon as you can.
If the wedding is canceled suddenly, with only a few days notice, text or call your guests with the information. If the wedding is still several weeks or months out, an email is fine. Just be sure everyone is in the know.
Do You Also Need Event Liability Coverage for Your Wedding?
Even if you do not purchase event insurance in the case of extreme weather, you will very likely still need the other wedding insurance option: event liability insurance. This type of insurance policy is often required by venues to protect both you and them from financial liability should the venue be damaged or if a guest is injured during the course of the event.
In addition to general liability protection, some more specialized liability coverage options safeguard against property damage, to protect you from lawsuits related to the venue; host liquor liability coverage, to protect you from lawsuits related to drinking during the event; and pet liability coverage, which covers pet-related damages if your dog or cat is included in your wedding day.
Wedding Insurance FAQs
How Much Protection Do You Need for Your Wedding?
It’s a smart idea to purchase both wedding liability insurance (which may even be required by your venue) as well as wedding cancellation insurance. Both can help you recoup a wide range of wedding costs, from lost deposits if a vendor goes bankrupt to lost money if your photographer loses the files for your digital wedding photographs.
How Much Does Wedding Insurance Cost?
Wedding insurance costs very little, with some policies starting under $100. The specific cost will depend on the number of guests, the location, and other factors.
When Does Wedding Insurance Coverage Start?
Some policies kick in as soon as you purchase them, such as cancellation policies that protect your vendor deposits leading up to the event. For liability policies, these are more time-specific and typically cover all events held within the 48 hours surrounding the wedding, from the rehearsal dinner to the post-wedding brunch.
Do I Have to Buy Wedding Insurance?
You don’t have to buy wedding insurance unless you’re renting a venue that specifically requires it at the time of booking. However, it’s very beneficial to have to protect against unforeseen events that can lead to you losing tens of thousands of dollars if a wedding is canceled last-minute due to issues such as sudden severe weather.
What Severe Weather Does Wedding Insurance Cover?
Most wedding cancellation policies will cover severe weather events that prove hazardous to life and infrastructure, such as hurricanes, tropical storms, severe winter weather, tornadoes, wildfires, and earthquakes.
Say I Do to Special Event Insurance for Your Wedding Day
Purchasing wedding insurance is as easy as requesting a quick quote, comparing your coverage options, and then purchasing your policy at any point during the wedding planning process.
With BriteCo, comprehensive liability coverage starts at just over $100, while cancellation coverage starts at under $100 — easily one of the more inexpensive purchases you’ll make ahead of your wedding.
Plus, we cover more than your deposits if your wedding cancels and any potential financial liability arising from injured guests’ medical bills. We also cover the minute but important details of your day, such as lost, stolen, or damaged wedding gifts; lost, stolen, or damaged wedding rings; wedding gown damages; and undelivered wedding photos.
Find out more and get your free wedding insurance quote from BriteCo now.
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