When it comes to buying insurance policies, insurance for cars and homes most likely comes to mind. But Americans are now adding another big-ticket item to their policy vocabulary- wedding insurance, the Associated Press reported.
As the price of American weddings goes up, more couples are buying policies to protect against unpredictable mishaps before they say "I do."
According to a survey published last year by The Knot, weddings in 2012 cost an average of $28,427, the highest its been since before the recession in 2008.
Insurance companies say they are are selling policies to more couples who want see a return if for some reason the wedding is canceled, such as from dangerous weather and sickness. Wedding insurance also applies if one party decides to back out, the AP reported.
One mother-of-the-bride, Cheryl Winter, bought a $500 wedding insurance policy from Travelers Companies Inc., based in Hartford, Connecticut. Winter was concerned that her daughter's $50,000 New Orleans wedding would be ruined by a hurricane, the AP reported.
The day of the 2013 October wedding turned out fine, but they lost the deposit money put down for a limousine because it never showed up. The bride ended up taking a cab to the ceremony, but Winter was able to get the limousine deposit back thanks to the insurance, the AP reported.
"No one wants to be walking in the French Quarter in a long gown and high heels," Winter told the AP.
Not many insurance companies actually provide wedding insurance, but the companies the AP spoke to that offer it confirmed a rise in wedding policies.
Some policies cover losses from canceled weddings due to military deployments and bankrupt wedding halls. One company, Fireman's Fund Insurance Company, provides insurance in case the bride or groom is no longer interested in getting married.
However, Funds Insurance had to change the policy, offered since 2007, because volatile couples kept fraudulently buying the insurance, the AP reported.
"The only ones who were buying it were the ones who knew they would have a claim," Rob Nuccio, the program administrator from R.V. Nuccio & Associates, told the AP.
Now couples can only collect the insurance money if the wedding is cancelled more than nine months before the date.
Winter told the AP that buying the wedding insurance was completely worth it. She has another daughter getting married in 2015. Winter told the AP she is preparing to buy insurance for that wedding too.
