Wedding Insurance Articles

Find your own idyllic and romantic tropical paradise, surrounded by crystal clear waters and underwater coral gardens when you visit the islands of the Maldives. With about only a quarter of the islands inhabited, honeymooners will love the opportunity of a day with a whole island to themselves, as well as experiencing world class spas, water sports and more sandy beaches than you can dream of!

What to do

Diving
With a reputation as a diver’s paradise, the warm seas of Maldives have high visibility throughout the year. Over a thousand species of fish and other underwater creatures inhabit the waters. All resorts and safari boats give you basic to advanced training, with the guidance of experienced dive instructors. There are many coral reefs throughout the Maldives, all a short distance from one another, so it is possible to dive at a different location each day.

Watersports
Water, water everywhere – and lots of watersports! Surfing is best between June and September. Also on offer is parasailing, water polo, kayaking, kite-surfing, water-ski-ing, and jet-ski-ing.

Excursions
Excursions can be arranged by your resort to local inhabited islands to see local fishing villages with brightly painted houses and bustling harbours, calm and beautiful night fishing experiences and even day trips to uninhabited islands where you can spend a whole day with an entire island to yourselves!

Spa
Every Maldivian resort has a spa; some of them hidden within tropical vegetation, others on a wooden jetty over the lagoon, and some even found underwater. Maldivians use their own local oils and traditional healing methods to offer calm, relaxation and therapy to help visitors to soothe away the stresses and strains of daily life.

Where to stay

All Maldivian resorts are on their own island. With over 100 resort islands to choose from, ranging from affordable to ultimate luxury, as well as guesthouses available on the 5 inhabited islands, honeymooners are sure to be able to find a place to stay that suits both their interests and budget.

Insurance

When travelling abroad, you should always take out some form of honeymoon/travel insurance before you go. Policies can offer cover against delay or cancellation, lost baggage and importantly medical costs should you fall ill whilst abroad.

With everything from skiing, adventure, beaches and sunshine through to history, culture, shopping and romance, you are sure to find your perfect honeymoon in Australia.

Where to go and what to do:

There are so many hundreds of different things that you can do in Australia that any honeymoon couple would be wise to do plenty of research prior to booking. The following is a short summary of Australia’s main attractions, with examples of what sort of experiences and opportunities you will find there:

The Great Barrier Reef in Queensland is the perfect combination of romance and adventure. Snorkel together to wonder at the world’s largest coral reef and swim in deliciously clear waters, all with the backdrop of Queensland’s lush tropical rainforests.

Australian cities such as Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra and Sydney offer cosmopolitan romance, centuries of historical architecture and world-class arts and culture. Every kind of shopping opportunity is available, from high end fashion to fresh produce and Australian aboriginal craft.

Alice Springs in the Northern Territory is a base for visiting the famous Uluru (Ayer’s Rock). Known as the capital of the Outback, experience waterholes, palms and astounding wildlife.

Kkosciuszko National Park is home to many luxurious ski resorts, such as Thredbo Village and Perisher Valley, offering a huge range of skiing opportunities, night life, shopping and romantic luxury lodges.

Sydney, Perth, the Gold Coast (Queensland) and Byron Bay (New South Wales) are four of the main beach holiday areas of Australia. Surfers will love the Gold Coast and Scarborough (Perth), while nature lovers will head to Byron Bay to spot bottlenose dolphins, rays, sea turtles and whales. For a vibrant nightlife, try Perth’s Scarborough, and it is hard to beat the ultimate relaxing beach destination with golden sands and warm aqua waters found on the Whitsunday Islands (part of the Great Barrier Reef).

Insurance

When travelling abroad (even more so when travelling half way around the world!), you should always take out some form of travel insurance before you go. Policies can offer cover against delay or cancellation, lost baggage and importantly medical costs should you fall ill whilst abroad.

Imagine glorious beaches, tropical weather, red sunsets, jerk chicken, reggae, rum and warm friendly people – you are imagining Jamaica. A large and diverse island located in the Western Caribbean with tropical temperatures year round, Jamaica is an ideal honeymoon resort for those wanting to combine luxurious relaxation with colourful fun and laughter.

Things to do:

Jamaica offers a simply huge range of activities, from relaxing in a spa or on the golf course through to edge-of-your-seat river rafting or rally driving. Other activities that honeymooners to Jamaica can choose from include bicycle tours in the mountains, river jeep safaris, eco-adventure trails, golf clubs, cruises, horseback riding, swimming with dolphins, Jamaican art and craft galleries, watersports, botanical gardens and much, much more.

Ochos Rios hosts an annual Easter carnival, Montego Bay a Jazz festival in February and there is an Independence weekend celebration in Negril at the end of July.

Places to stay:

With places to stay suiting every budget, from B&B’s to apartments, villas to luxury hotels, honeymoon visitors to Jamaica are spoilt for choice.

Kingston is the heart of Jamaica, offering shopping, fine dining and Caribbean city living.

Montego Bay mixes incredible natural beauty with a multitude of shops, restaurants and clubs, as well as championship golf courses, lavish resorts and legendary Colonial great houses. Centrally located, it is considered the tourist ‘hub’ of the island, with the legendary nightlife of the ‘Hip Strip’.

Negril is a favourite destination for honeymooners, offering sandy beaches, scuba diving, gourmet dining and picturesque coasts. On the west coast, it boasts arguably the best beaches on the island, with calm, clear water and stunning evening sunsets.

Ochos Rios is home to many luxury grand resorts, and also to stunning waterfalls, beaches and rivers. It offers a mixture of beaches, shopping and sightseeing.

Insurance

When travelling abroad, you should always take out some form of honeymoon or travel insurance before you go. Policies can offer cover against delay or cancellation, lost baggage and importantly medical costs should you fall ill whilst abroad.

Despite the current financial trends, people are still getting married. The only slight difference is that they seem to be trimming their costs. We know this because recently released statistics have shown that for the first time for years, the average cost of a traditional wedding has fallen from a high of around £20,000 to £15,000. What has surprised many in the insurance industry and the media is that only about one quarter of those getting married are taking out any form of insurance protection. Furthermore, what is even more surprising is that the most likely person to take out that insurance is the man rather than the woman. This is in contrast to most of the other wedding related purchases and decisions, which tend to be made by the bride to be.

Another interesting statistic to come out of all this is that people are using comparison websites more and more to establish the best deals for wedding insurance. It seems that the penny has finally dropped, so insurers are gearing up for a boom in wedding insurance policies as people become more aware of the risk they are taking by spending huge amounts of their hard earned on their wedding arrangements.

Originally, policies could only be taken out up to 12 months prior to the event, however, with the realisation that wedding planners are planning up to two years ahead, insurers are now often providing policies that can be taken out up to two years ahead, although you may occasionally find there are small additional costs involved.

You can now get a basic policy for as cheaply as around £20 from some insurers, but we would suggest that you work out your budget first and then find a policy that adequately covers those liabilities. You should also add a small percentage to each of your estimates to cover for underestimations as you do not want to be hit with an under insurance charge if you make a claim. Most wedding insurance policies offer a tiered method of cover. That means that in its simplest form, you can just choose the overall budget for your wedding and pay for that level of insurance. This avoids that time-consuming and painstaking job of working out the cost of each aspect of your wedding and trying to estimate the cover required for each one individually.

Be aware that there are certain things that are considered additional cover by some insurers but not all. Public Liability cover (for the Bride and Groom anyway) is included by most insurers these days, but you should still check anyway. Things like marquees, ceremonial swords and extending public liability to cover all guests will require additional cover and therefore additional costs.

Finally, remember that changing your mind or you decide you cannot afford it do not constitute a valid claim under wedding insurance.

More and more people are getting married abroad. Whilst this in itself presents more pressing logistical problems for the wedding planners, it is also a time to make doubly sure that you have adequate insurance to cover any disasters on the way. Traditional wedding insurance policies do not always cover all the aspects of a wedding abroad that are important and that would cause you the most problems, whether they are financial or simply logistical. That is why we are going to take a quick look at what you need and what is generally offered by insurers.

Let’s get one thing out of the way right from the very start. Wedding insurance policies do usually not cover travel, so you will need travel insurance as a separate policy to your wedding insurance. Wedding insurance covers items related to your wedding day but it does not cover you beyond this. So we would therefore recommend that you also take out adequate travel insurance to cover you while you are abroad.

With regard as to when you should take out your policy, this is dependent upon whether you have confirmed your wedding date and therefore your travel dates as well. It is normal to take out wedding insurance as soon as you have these dates confirmed, however please be aware that if your date is more than twelve months ahead, you may find that some insurers will charge an extra premium.

There are now insurers who have policies specifically for weddings abroad and we suggest that you take a look at those as a priority. The reasons being that they offer some cover in areas that a normal wedding insurance policy does not, for instance, delayed travel due to circumstances beyond your control and legal document indemnity. The latter covers the replacement of things like passports, birth certificates and covers the cost of replacing them. One area that has been of concern to people planning a wedding abroad has been their liability should there be an accident or loss of some kind. Wedding abroad insurance now plugs that gap and you will find that these specialist insurers now offer Public Liability insurance as part of their policies. As a precaution, we suggest that you check with them first if you are travelling outside of the EU.

In all other respects, your policy will cover all the things you expect from a traditional wedding insurance policy, however, you may find that you are having to pay a little extra for the additional cover that is afforded by these specialist types of policy. If you have already got a short list of insurers with whom you feel comfortable, why not check out whether they offer specific cover for overseas wedding or whether you can extend your existing policy.

Things to Do

Bangkok – Visit the magnificent Grand Palace, built in 1782 and featuring an emerald Buddha, the Temple of the Reclining Buddha which measures more than 150foot in length. Other attractions incluce Jim Thompson’s house in Siam square, a remarkable example of traditional Thai residential architecture and home to some of the finest examples of southeast Asian art.

Thai Markets – Thailand is renowned for its markets. From Chatuchak weekend market with 15,000 stalls and 200,000 visitors daily, to the amazing Suan Lum Night Bazaar market, you can find beautiful and authentic Thai craftwork, excellent value clothing and delicious local food.

Best seen in the early morning, there are also many floating markets. The most popular and well known is Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. Others include Amphawa, Taling Chan, Sai Nai Floating Market, Khu Wiang and Bang Nam Pheung.

At any market, be prepared to haggle, and beware anything that seems too good to be true – it probably is! Avoid touts and stores that offer cheap suits or jewellery. Taxi drivers and tour guides often receive commission for taking tourists to certain shops. Instead, ask your hotel to recommend reputable shops.

Southern islands – Phuket is a large island, known for the devastation it suffered due to the 2004 tsunami. It has fully recovered and is more vibrant than ever. While Patong Beach is a tourist trap full of small hotels, clubs (of various types), restaurants and shops, there are many quiet areas.

Koh Samui celebrates the Thai New Year (13 April) in style, and is home to the Ko Samui music festival in September and October. It boasts several luxury resorts, beaches, golf courses and spas.

Chiang Mai Province offers a huge variety of activities, from visits to an elephant farm and rock climbing to Thai cookery lessons and spas.

Other places to visit include: Pattaya, Koh Tao, Ko Lanta, Kanchanaburi, Chiang Rai and Patong.

Insurance

When travelling abroad, you should always take out some form of honeymoon or travel insurance before you go. Policies can offer cover against delay or cancellation, lost baggage and importantly medical costs should you fall ill whilst abroad.

Places to Stay

The most popular destinations in Thailand are Ayutthaya, Pattaya, Bangkok, Phuket, Krabi, Chiang Mai, and Ko Samui. Bangkok is Thailand’s capital city of over 6 million people, and is Thailand’s main tourist attraction. Food ranges from street vendors through to fine cuisine.

Ranging from ultra-luxurious to simple and cheap, from beach resorts to bustling city hotels, there is something in Thailand to suit any honeymooning couple.

We all know the old joke about the best man forgetting or losing the rings at the point in the ceremony where the officiating priest, vicar or whoever asks for them, only to be met by panic stricken searching of the trouser pockets, inside jacket pockets and just about everywhere else! Unfortunately, the loss of wedding rings, whilst not stated in the recent top ten claims by insurance companies, is still right up there and relatively common. More to the point is the stress caused by this particular loss, so it is understandable that one of the first questions considered by wedding planners when looking at wedding insurance policies is “are the wedding rings covered?”

Regarding wedding rings, the most common practice is for them to be covered by your wedding insurance policy shortly before and after the wedding day. However, most insurers will tell you that it is far more sensible to have them included in your household contents policy. Be aware, that rings with a high value will almost certainly have to be insured as a separate item within the household contents policy and will attract an additional premium.

Engagement rings

An area of confusion arises where people get mixed up with wedding rings and engagement rings. Your engagement ring is not covered by wedding insurance; however, it can be covered by your household contents policy. Again, you should check with your insurer whether it is covered under the general sum insured or if it has a high value, whether it needs to be included as a separate item on the policy.

Of course, when you buy your ring, you will often be offered standalone insurance that will cover it for loss, damage and theft. It’s worth taking a look at the price of this as it could be cheaper than insuring it elsewhere.

I had it a minute ago…

Believe it or not, one of the most common claims for wedding rings is due to the new owner taking them off and leaving them somewhere, often the toilet or rest areas after the ceremony. This may sound ridiculous, but statistics have shown that newlyweds are not used to wearing their ring and often will take it off when washing their hands, then they forget about it because they are not used to having it on their hand. More often than not, the ring will disappear and not be found or returned.

Getting married is a stressful time and the last thing you need is to have everyone searching for your ring that you have mislaid. If you are a best man, we suggest that you put it in your inside jacket pocket the night before and make sure that you continually remind yourself where it is. No more rummaging about for it when the time comes for you to hand it over!

Numerous weddings are potentially about to be cancelled as a result of the sudden closure of Chewton Place.

The venue, a Georgian Mansion located near Keynsham, Bristol, closed its doors on 19th December after the company that ran it, Aspire Venues Ltd, went into administration.

Tim Ball, partner at the insolvency practitioners instructed to place Aspire Venues into administration has warned couples to “assume the worst” and that it’s unlikely they will be getting any deposits back.

He said in a statement:

“The closure of this insolvent business is very distressing for all concerned and a number of members of the public are affected by the cancellation of future wedding and event bookings and will be receiving letters very shortly.”

“We of course have a great deal of sympathy for those affected by these understandably very stressful circumstances.”

Mr Ball went on to advise those that have placed deposits to contact their insurers or credit card companies to determine if they would be able recover any financial losses that way.

Wedding Insurance

Those with wedding insurance should be able to claim for any lost deposit and possibly any additional costs they might incur as a result of finding a new venue, potentially at short notice. Couples that hadn’t taken out insurance might be able to reclaim any losses from their credit card company (if they paid for the deposit using their card and it was over £100) under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act although they wouldn’t be able to claim for any additional costs.

Sadly in these uncertain economic times, venues or suppliers going out of business are an all too common occurrence. In fact, four of the current top ten claims on a wedding insurance policy are related to supplier bankruptcy.

Situations such as these are a clear reminder of why couples should take out a wedding insurance policy early on in the wedding planning process. With premiums starting from under £20, it’s not really much of an additional expense either.

Update – 16th January 2012

This morning, thisisbath.co.uk is reporting the great news that Bath Racecourse has generously offered affected couples the use of its 300 capacity marquee free of charge. The racecourse is located close to the three wedding venues that went out of business.

I remember my early days as an insurance underwriter mainly for the multitude of people offering me advice. Most were platitudes, but there were some pearls of wisdom that I carried with me until the day I retired. One in particular was always at the forefront of my mind especially when I started looking at, and writing about wedding insurance. The advice was basically to think about the very worst and most ridiculous things that could happen to instigate a claim, double it and make that your starting point to assess the risk! That may sound a bit daft, but it saved my bacon many times throughout my career.

One of the most enlightening things was to look at previous claims and see if you could see any sort of theme running through them. I recently uncovered some remarkable events associated with weddings and wedding insurance, like the couple who had to cancel their wedding TEN times! Yes, then times for various reasons, too many to write here, but reported by the Daily Mail newspaper. They were obviously extremely unlucky, but even one of their cancellation could have cost them a fortune had they not had the foresight to take out wedding insurance beforehand. Although I bet their insurers did not feel the same was in the end!

Another case highlights not only the tenuous nature of the services and other wedding items that you often have to pay for in advance.

The bride in question went to pick up her wedding dress two days before the wedding day. She had paid in full for the dress. When she got to the shop, it had closed down. Not only had it closed down, but the owner had taken all the stock and her wedding dress as well. She had to go out and buy a dress ‘off the peg’ so to speak, costing her hundreds of pounds extra. Later, her father tracked down the shop owner, who had opened up again elsewhere and had the cheek to have the dress in the window. Because the business was in administration, it was felt that she had little chance of recovering the dress. Eventually her father did manage to get the dress back, but it was now after the event and there is little chance of them recovering the £1,200 it cost.

Getting even sillier, we have the case of the bride who, the night before the wedding, hung the dress too close to a light fitting and it was badly scorched, too late to do anything about it, although their insurance did pay for it to be repaired later. In another odd case, a marquee was ‘broken into’ and the heaters were stolen and the cake knocked over; again, insurance paid for replacements heaters and re-icing the cake. Finally, and the funniest I think, was the case where the groom took what he thought were empty boxes to the tip, only to find that the rings, shoes and some attire were still in them!

Now that is why you need wedding insurance!

See our comparison table for a range of policies from a number of UK wedding insurance providers.

Honeymoons to the USA cater for all tastes and budgets, offering a glittering array of luxury hotels, romantic getaways and unique charm where ever you choose to stay.

Things to do

Where shall I start? How about ten short suggestions for honeymooning couples, as a taste of what the USA has to offer:

Hawaii – exotic, tropical beaches and luxury resorts

New York City – culture, famous landmarks and incredible sightseeing opportunities

Niagara Falls (US side – Buffalo) – take a trip on the Maid of the Mist boat to see the incredible waterfalls – what a dramatic backdrop to your honeymoon photographs!

Florida – boasting 1800 miles of warm coastline, honeymooners can have a land and sea adventures ranging from diving in the coral reefs to rustic trails. Oh, and there’s Disneyland too if you get bored.

California – Art and culture, beaches and nightlife – California offers it all. Major attractions include Yosemite national park, Hollywood and Laguna beach.

Las Vegas – See the Bellagio fountains choreograph dancing water to music, and of course, everything from penny slot machines to private casinos.

Texas – packed with romantic getaways, the Texas Gulf Coast is ideal for honeymooners. On the upper coast, visit Galveston if you love opera and theatre. Stay in Corpus Christi on the middle coast to see world class ballet, and the southern city of South Padres island is home to beautiful beaches and a semi tropical climate all year round.

Washington – Arts, culture and heritage within the city, with beaches, rivers, lakes, rainforests, gorges and mountains to explore.

Gulf Coast – ample opportunities for everything from fly fishing to golf, beautiful beaches to island exploration.

New Jersey – Divided into six regions, honeymooners can expect to choose from seaside towns, historic lighthouses, Victorian charm, opulent casinos or gourmet restaurants. Don’t forget to visit the Statue of Liberty for a great photo opportunity!

Honeymoon Insurance

When travelling abroad, you should really make sure that you have adequate honeymoon or travel insurance. In the EU, your EHIC may cover you for some medical expenses but that doesn’t apply in the US – even more reason to make sure you’re adequately insured.

Single trip policies can cost as little as around just £10 with multi-trip annual policies costing less than £50. It really does make sense doesn’t it!