Wedding insurance is something most couples never think about. But there are lots of moving parts to a wedding and any number of things could go wrong. Ed Charlebois, vice president of personal insurance for Travelers Insurance, explains why it’s important.

　　Q: When is the best time to start thinking about wedding insurance?

　　A: The best time is when you start writing out checks for deposits on the venue and all of the vendors you’ll be using. All of them will ask you for a deposit so they can secure that date. But bad things can happen. We’ve seen cases where the venue for the wedding reception has gone out of business. They have declared bankruptcy and the couple has already put down their deposit but they can’t get it back so they have to find another place.

　　Q: What are some of the many vendors a couple might deal with in planning a wedding?

　　A: Well, you have the venue, the florist, the photographer, maybe a videographer, a DJ and some couples will have string instruments or a live band. Our biggest category of claims come from vendors. Sometimes venues can be affected by bad weather. Hurricane Sandy flooded a lot of venues that couldn’t recover in time. And other times you may have an issue with the florist — maybe they don’t deliver what they are supposed to deliver. Or sometimes they are overbooked and don’t show up at all.

　　Q: What are some other things that can go wrong — as if those aren’t bad enough?

　　A: One venue was suddenly no longer zoned for wedding parking. In another case, a spouse might be deployed overseas, requiring a change of the wedding date. Other claims involve lost or damaged wedding rings, dresses and attire. We’ve also seen damaged wedding cakes, glitches in catering and photographers who never deliver the wedding photos.

　　Related：GraziaAustralia

　　Q: So how much does wedding insurance cost?

　　A: We have basic coverage of $160 for the event part of the insurance. That includes the venue and the vendors. But many venues require that couples take out liability insurance in case a guest or the couple do anything that causes injury to others or property damage. That’s another $165 for liability insurance. When you buy your wedding insurance you should pick your level of coverage. Our most basic level of coverage for cancellation or postponement is $7,500, but we go all the way up to $175,000.

　　Q: Assuming you have a wedding insurance claim, how long does it take to be reimbursed for losses you may have suffered?

　　A: It can be very quick. But you need to notify us as soon as you have a loss, and you can report that 24/7. Then we’ll have people who are in touch trying to figure out what happened and what the next steps are. We’ll ask to see a copy of the contract to see if the vendor lived up to their part of the contract. As soon as that’s resolved you can be paid.

　　Read more：GraziaDressAU Semi-Formal Dresses

　　Q: And now the million dollar question: What happens if someone gets cold feet at the last minute and decides not to go through with the wedding?

　　A: If someone decides not to get married that’s not covered.