How to Decide If You Need Wedding Insurance

If your perfect wedding includes vows before your local Justice of the Peace and a honeymoon at your favorite camping spot, you probably don't need wedding insurance. If, on the other hand, your idea of the perfect wedding involves a June extravaganza, including a dozen or more attendants, a sit-down dinner for several hundred guests, a well-known band for the reception, a cathedral ceremony performed by your favorite bishop and a honeymoon on a tropical island several hours away by plane, this may be the article for you.

Even if your idea of the perfect wedding falls somewhere in-between a lavish extravaganza and a quiet celebration for two, wedding insurance may be something worth considering.

According to the Des Moines Sunday Register, the average amount spent on a wedding in 2006 was nearly $30,000. From 1999 to 2006, the average increase in the cost of wedding rings, the wedding dress and tuxedo, flowers and bouquets, attendants' gifts and the photographer and/or videographer was just over 96 percent. Wedding insurance premiums range from $95 to more than $1,000, depending on the details of the coverage and the size of the wedding.

Given those figures, wedding insurance may be a very smart investment, even for small weddings.

Basic liability coverage will offer protection from lawsuits if someone trips and falls, whether by accident or as a result of too much "beverage." Depending on the policy - how detailed you wish to get and what you're willing to pay in premiums - liability coverage may also protect you from having to replace or repair ruined or damaged clothing or property as a result of carelessness or an accidental spill by you or someone in your party.

In addition to a basic liability policy, wedding insurance can be obtained to cover virtually any potential loss or change in plans, depending upon your willingness to pay the premium. Some other considerations for wedding insurance are:

Death or illness. A policy can be written to cover the loss or expense of a canceled or postponed wedding because of the sudden death or illness of either the bride or groom or any other critical participant.