Lifestyle

How to claim insurance if your wedding has been cancelled



When Boris Johnson addressed the nation  last night, he announced that weddings would be ‘stopped’ for at least the next three weeks. 

The British Prime Minister said: “We’ll stop all social events, including weddings, baptisms and other ceremonies, but excluding funerals.”

The average wedding in the UK costs an estimated £31,974, so how much of this can couples expect to get back if their wedding is cancelled?


If you’ve got insurance, it is likely it will be covered. On the John Lewis wedding insurance FAQs page, it says: “If the wedding venue is not permitted to hold the wedding due to any specific government legal measures in relation to public gatherings (that includes weddings); there will be cover under the policy.

“In all cases, you should contact the venue and other suppliers as soon as possible to check whether the venue is prepared to hold your wedding and whether a refund or re-arrangement by the venue and other suppliers would be available.”

Salman Haqqi, personal finance expert at money.co.uk, tells the Standard: “Many wedding insurance policies will most likely cover the cancellation and rearrangement of the wedding due to COVID-19 coronavirus.

“Wedding insurance can cover the cost of your nuptials if you need to cancel, or if something else goes wrong like one of your suppliers fails to fulfil their commitments.

“It also protects against damage or theft to your wedding attire, gifts, cake, flowers and may cover the cost if you have to retake your photographs or if you have a problem with your wedding cars. Wedding insurance can give you valuable protection, especially as your big day will more than likely cost a lot of money.”

However, if you haven’t got wedding insurance, it is unlikely you will be covered in this instance and many insurance companies have stopped policy applications for the time being. 

A statement on the Events Insurance site reads: “As a result of ongoing developments regarding the Coronavirus, we have taken the decision to suspend all new wedding insurance applications whilst we assess the impact of the virus both in the UK and abroad.”

Without insurance, the best bet would be to talk to your suppliers directly to see if there is any leeway, says Nina Beer, wedding coordinator and owner of Occasion Queens

Beer adds: “If you are postponing to a later date then there shouldn’t be a problem and suppliers would be happy to do this at little to no cost. If you are cancelling then you may find that the supplier will refund you a certain amount minus the work already carried out or materials paid for.”

Haqqi adds that there is a real risk of losing your money if you don’t have insurance. “Without insurance you could lose all of the money you spent on your wedding,” he says.

“You may have some protection if you paid by credit card, but this will not cover everything wedding insurance can. Section 75 can protect any payments you make by credit card between £100 and £30,000, but it only covers certain scenarios.”



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