Indians are known for having big, lavish weddings, with families often spending huge amounts on venues, catering, decorations, jewellery and other arrangements. However, an unforeseen event such as a natural disaster, fire or sudden cancellation of a function can disrupt months of planning.
In some cases, an incident could also result in physical damage or theft of valuables during the celebrations. Since people often save for years to finance their own or their children's big day, it's better to have a fallback plan.
To protect yourself from events beyond your control, individuals can consider wedding insurance, which covers certain financial losses arising from the above-mentioned risks. However, before purchasing a policy, you should understand its coverage, premium costs and limitations.
What a wedding insurance plan covers?
A wedding insurance plan covers heavy expenses incurred either due to wedding cancellation or any other damage, according to a blog post by Paisabazaar. The policy classifies different situations under the following categories:
- Liability coverage: This section covers any damage or loss to a third party during the wedding event due to accidents or injuries.
- Cancellation coverage: It covers financial losses arising due to sudden or unexplained cancellation of the wedding.
- Damage to property: This part protects you against losses or damages caused to the property where the wedding is taking place.
- Personal accident: This covers hospitalisation expenses of the bride or bridegroom if they meet with an unfortunate accident.
A wedding insurance plan also offers coverage in case of cancellation or loss due to fire, theft or burglary. In such cases, you can recover the advance amount paid for catering services, wedding venue, travel agencies and hotel bookings.
The policy can also cover printing cost of wedding invitation cards and expenses incurred for venue decoration and wedding set, depending on the insurer's offerings and the plan's terms and conditions.
Cases where you can't make a claim
Although wedding insurance covers several risks, there are certain limitations. According to blog post, policyholders cannot make a claim in these cases:
- Terrorist attacks.
- Strike or civil unrest.
- Cancellation of the wedding due to sudden breakup or change of heart.
- Kidnap of the bride or bridegroom.
- Loss of damage to the clothing and personal assets of the wedding guests.
- Unexplained or sudden unavailability of the wedding venue.
- Bride or bridegroom unable to join the wedding due to flight delay.
- Damage caused to the wedding venue due to wear and tear with time, electrical or mechanical breakdown.
- Property damage due to negligence or lack of supervision.
Policyholders must note that wedding cancellations are only covered by the insurance policy if they happen due to unforeseen emergencies outside of your control, such as severe illness, injury, or hospitalisation of the bride, groom or their immediate family member, extreme weather etc.
How to file a claim
If you are eligible to make a claim under your wedding insurance policy, you should notify the insurer and submit the claim form as soon as possible. The insurer may also ask you to provide supporting documents to assess the claim.
These may include:
- A copy of the insurance policy.
- Details of the damaged property and a list of valuables that were lost or damaged, if that's what happened.
- Invoices or purchase receipts for the lost or damaged valuables.
- A copy of the FIR in case of theft or robbery.
- Credit card statements, purchase dates and location details of the lost or damaged property.
- A confirmation from a qualified expert if the damage is beyond repair.
A wedding insurance claim can be settled within 30 days of the incident that caused the disruption. Even if the insurance company needs some clarification, it has to be done within these 30 days, according to the blog post.