Do You Really Need Wedding Insurance If You Already Have Home Insurance?

When you're looking for wedding insurance, you might have given some thought to whether it really is necessary. After all, you probably have home insurance, and you may be aware of the protection offered to you by credit card companies. Perhaps between the two that might be enough?

Although it's an assumption made by many couples who choose not to spend money on a separate wedding insurance policy, there is a warning against this.

Wedding insurance should certainly be considered alongside any existing insurance policies you may have in place, including home insurance or credit card protection.

Yet neither home insurance or credit card protection offers the same level of protection in all circumstances that a separate wedding insurance policy does. It's important to be aware of the differences between these three separate product options, understanding what each can offer and, just as importantly, what they may not cover.

Although home insurance policies vary widely in what they do and do not cover, you are likely to find that two aspects of your wedding may well be covered by this. The first includes your wedding gifts and items such as your dress, outfits and other physical goods whilst they are in your own home. There may be some exceptions, but this will be something you'll need to investigate by looking carefully at your insurance policy documents.

The second aspect of your wedding which may be covered by home insurance policies includes cover for your possessions and clothing while you are away from home. Often this is an optional policy inclusion, but if you have added this to your insurance you may find that your wedding gifts and other physical items are covered the whole time.

However, you may find that your home insurance offers no protection against services letting you down, or gifts or physical items not directly owned by you and not within your own home. When you start to consider that this means that none of the services you have booked are protected, and items such as flowers and wedding presents may not be covered either, the potential loss could be considerable.

Credit card companies are required to provide a level of protection too under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. However, this only covers you for those items or services for which you have paid using your credit card, and often there may be a value limit on this, such as a minimum of £100. This needs to be checked with your credit card company.

Between these two you may find you have a reasonable amount of cover - but there are still issues not covered, such as illness. If either you or your partner or one of the principal guests becomes ill, or as a result of traffic, strikes or the weather the wedding is disrupted, delayed or cancelled, then neither policy will be of any help.

In such cases it is helpful and reassuring to add wedding insurance to your list, providing you with complete cover, for almost any eventuality you dare not think about!