Insurance…this topic is not one of the most exciting details one discusses when planning a wedding, but I would argue that it is one of the most important components of protecting your investment and offering you peace of mind as you plan & host your special celebration. Our friends at Nuptial helped to write this blog. Justin and his team at Nuptial help couples around the country understand how risk related to their wedding might affect them, and how to protect against it.
Most venues, including French’s Point, require clients to obtain general liability insurance. This liability insurance covers you (up to a limit) if something is damaged or someone gets injured as a result of the celebration or any activities related to it. The other exposure you have is the contractual responsibility to the venue. If your event harms the venue in any way, you are responsible to the venue for its financial loss. Event insurance allows you to transfer that obligation to an insurance carrier so that financial consequences don’t directly burden you.
A vendor, or provider of the related service that caused the injury (the bartender, the caterer, the band/DJ, or the fireworks provider), is the first in line for exposure, as a result of their work. At French’s Point, we require all providers on your wedding team to provide proof of liability protection for this reason. The provider has this insurance, but as the client of that service, you are generally second in line for the exposure. This is why it is critical that not only do your vendors have liability insurance but that you have liability insurance, too.
It is critical that not only do your vendors have liability insurance but that you have liability insurance, too.
If the insurance claim exceeds the value of coverage in the provider’s liability policy, you are likely now exposed for the balance of the claim and your liability insurance may cover that exposure up to your chosen limit. This will help to limit your personal exposure.
After you, your venue is third in line for liability exposure resulting from a claim. French’s Point has liability protection, but we want to limit our exposure as much as possible, as should you. You must obtain general and liquor liability protection from our event insurance partner, Nuptial.
As is the case with many venues, if you are serving alcohol at your French’s Point wedding, you need Host Liquor Liability Insurance for each day of your reservation. This type of insurance covers you (again, up to a limit) if someone is injured or something gets damaged due to alcohol consumption or activities related to it. The good news here is that your policy will automatically include this coverage at no cost to you.
At French’s Point, this coverage is required for our clients, but I strongly encourage all couples to add a cancellation and postponement policy to cover the cost of contracts resulting from cancellation, postponement, lost deposits, damaged or stolen items, or to provide relief from unanticipated costs should you need to replace a contracted vendor because they cannot perform.
Policies for wedding cancellation or lost deposits are priced according to the total wedding budget. They typically start at around $200. The total wedding investment – how much you spend on the gown, the ring, deposits for the venue and other services, etc. – is essentially your level of risk should something go wrong. Insurance is an affordable way to obtain much more fool-proof protection.
Some common examples of when a cancellation or postponement loss would be covered are severe weather, loss of venue, called away to military duty, sickness or injury of the celebrants or direct family (not from a preexisting illness), vendor issues, lost deposits, wedding attire damage, jewelry loss or theft, etc.
If your wedding investment is equal to or greater than the price of your car, a relatively pricey asset for which you presumably have insurance, I encourage you to explore wedding cancellation and postponement coverage. In the end, you will likely decide that the financial risk involved justifies the expense.
Jessika Brooks-Brewer
Owner, French’s Point
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