Wedding dresses, rings and gifts can cost thousands of pounds. So before walking up the aisle or setting sail on honeymoon, there are a few things couples should do to ensure their new possessions are safe.
From gifts to the wedding dress, the cost of newlywed’s home contents can soar overnight.
So, if you’re about to get married, or have tied the knot and are off on your honeymoon, there are a few things you can do to make sure you’re covered from the start of wedded life.
Check your existing policy
There’s a good chance that your home insurance policy may provide some additional cover for valuables or contents, like wedding presents, for no extra cost.
Confused.com’s home insurance commercial manager ,Tom Vaughan, advises that contents cover might specify this as religious festivals and weddings, or it might be more general and just refer to special occasions, but it’s worth checking.
The additional cover may be a percentage of your existing home insurance cover or may be for a fixed amount, but generally it will only apply for a limited period of time - normally one month, or a month either side of the event.
Deals for newlyweds
Some insurers also offer a ‘special uplift’ in insurance cover when you get married.
LV= home insurance will increase the amount of contents it covers you for by 10 per cent for a month, free of charge, when you get married.
A spokesman from the company said: “This is to ensure that any gifts are covered. After getting married it’s a good time to re-calculate your contents-insured sum as you may need to increase it to reflect all the lovely presents.”
But when it comes to insuring engagement or wedding rings, LV= warns that these should be added to any general home insurance policy as soon as they’re purchased.
What about the dress?
For any bride, the dress is a major part of their big day, and can cost hundreds, if not thousands of pounds.
So, while it might not seem obvious to insure items of clothing under your home insurance, a wedding dress should be an exception. Brides should protect their gown by adding it to their home insurance policy before the big day, if it’s being stored in the home.
LV= in particular, will insure your wedding dress as a 'personal possession' which falls under its general home insurance policy offering. This will also cover your wedding dress when it is outside the home.
LV= adds: “The other way of insuring your dress outside of the home - when you are on honeymoon, for example - is travel insurance, as this also covers you for cancellation or medical problems abroad.”
Wedding insurance
One other insurance option to cover the big-day is specialist wedding insurance which will protect against anything untoward happening on the day or in the run up. But very often, the same cover is available on existing home or travel polices, so check with your insurer to avoid doubling up on cover and paying for extra insurance unnecessarily.
