Wedding insurance policies regularly refer to loss and damage, but what does this really mean in practical terms, and don’t your home insurance policies and credit card cover deal with those sorts of issues?

It may well be that the only loss you have to worry about is the Groom’s dignity after the Best Man’s speech, and the only damage being that to his reputation in the eyes of his new in-laws. However, both loss and damage occur frequently at weddings, and it may well be important to make sure that you have a wedding insurance policy in place just in case.

If you carry out a wedding insurance comparison you’ll probably find that almost every policy refers to loss and damage in one way or another, sometimes including it as a mandatory part of the basic policy, and in other cases there may be a range of options. It’s important to check these differences out as there’s no sense paying for a policy that’s far more than you need, and little worse than feeling reassured that your policy covers you before finding out too late that it doesn’t.

Sadly, perhaps one of the most obvious things which tends to go missing at weddings are the wedding rings themselves. Small, and concealed for most of the time in someone’s pocket, they are easily lost, and it may be some time before the loss is even noticed, making finding them again rather difficult. If this does happen, then you should find your wedding insurance policy will cover you.

Unfortunately there is another side to the word ‘loss’, because whilst it may be true that small items such as rings, jewellery and even wedding gifts can be mislaid and lost, they are also subject to theft. With so many people milling about, from staff at the venue to suppliers, from friends and family to people who may have simply wandered in accidentally from another nearby event, small items, usually easily carried, worth a reasonable sum of money and brand new are both highly tempting and easily disposed of.

Whether items such as clothing, jewellery, the rings, wedding gifts or other small items are lost or stolen, most wedding insurance policies should cover it. However, it’s worth remembering that your home insurance policy may cover certain items such as your own personal possessions which you have taken with you. If you have your own items of jewellery and clothing you may find that your existing home insurance will cover these.

If you have purchased certain items with your credit card such as your wedding cake, the rings or other jewellery, you may find that your credit card provider will help to cover the cost if an item is damaged, lost or stolen, although you will need to check this with your card provider first. Services paid for with your credit card that subsequently let you down are also often covered under the terms of the Consumer Credit Act, section 75.

Although we all hope that loss and damage don’t taint the happiness of the day, having adequate wedding insurance is definitely likely to help you deal with any problem in a way which will let you continue to enjoy the damage to reputations and loss of dignity throughout the remainder of the Best Man’s speech.