We’re slowly inching towards the warmer months, which are also collectively known as ‘wedding season.’ May, June, and August are some of the most popular times of the year to get married, according to Wedding Wire, which means brokers’ clients might be coming to them now with requests for wedding insurance.
Many venues require future brides and grooms to purchase special host liquor liability coverage, but a comprehensive program can offer a lot more than just insurance to protect lucky couples from damages caused by alcohol-related claims.
“Weddinguard is a unique product that PAL has offered for quite a number of years now,” said Matt Taylor (pictured above), general manager at PAL Insurance Brokers Canada. “And over the last six years, we’ve actually expanded the Weddinguard insurance to cover your wedding essentials.”
Besides special host liquor liability, the program offers coverage for a wide range of worst-case scenarios that engaged couples might worry about encountering in the lead up to the big day. They include commercial general liability, including host liquor liability for three 24-hour periods that can cover the rehearsal dinner, ceremony, reception, and gift opening, as well as the reimbursement of deposits upon an unexpected cancellation of the wedding. The couple can also be reimbursed should their honeymoon be cancelled and they lose out on the pre-paid, non-refundable costs of the trip.
Furthermore, the insured benefits from coverage for non-refundable deposits made to providers of any goods or services the couple booked if those vendors go bankrupt, and payment of the extra expenses required to retake photos if they can’t be reproduced for any reason, including a no-show photographer. Coverage for both the physical loss or damage to the bride’s wedding attire after they already have it in their possession, and for direct physical loss of or damage to wedding presents 24 hours before and after the wedding (when the property is at the couple’s home, reception location, or in transit between the two) is also included.
The wedding cake, stationery, and flowers are three more noteworthy expenses for weddings, and direct physical damage or loss to these items is likewise covered by Weddinguard. Finally, PAL’s program provides reimbursement of direct and physical damage to rented property used during the wedding reception. This can include everything from temporary outdoor shelters, like tents or marquees, to tables and chairs, stages, as well as audio and visual equipment.
“Brokers can offer their clients a much more well-rounded package to cover not only those three liquor liability days, but all the extra bells and whistles,” said Taylor, adding that there is a variety of packages available depending on the wedding budget. It’s also easy for brokers to get their clients this coverage.
“Weddinguard is available online with an automatic quote-bind-issue platform, so the broker can go on it and it’ll give them the rate right before they do the actual application,” explained Taylor. “They can give the client an idea of what they’re looking at pricewise, and they can apply up to a year in advance.”
An added perk of Weddinguard is that it includes wedding ring coverage, which has been boosted by another product from the company.
Read more: Missing ring claim backfires with FB pics
“We’ve developed a program for wedding rings where not only will they be covered [seven days before] the wedding on Weddinguard, but [insureds] can also continue that coverage with the wedding ring program for years to come,” said Taylor. “The coverage is an all risk coverage policy wording, and the great thing about the wedding ring [program] is that it’s covered worldwide as well on the person.”
Notably, when brokers come through the website and they purchase any PAL policy for a wedding-related event, the system will generate a discount code for the wedding ring insurance.
“They’ll get up to a 20% discount for the first year with the wedding ring product if they had an underlying policy with PAL in relation to their wedding,” added Taylor.
Please note that PAL’s Weddinguard does not cover liabilities, cancellations, quarantines, etc, related in any way to the COVID-19 pandemic.
