RV Nuccio & Associates and Fireman's Fund have teamed up to include "change of heart" clauses in its wedding insurance policies for the first time.

Fireman's Fund said its Weddingsurance Change of Heart coverage will provide help in recovering expenses if the bride or groom experiences cold feet during the planning process. Significant deposits on event facilities, caterers, and florists have helped drive up the average cost of weddings to nearly $27,000, creating a demand for the coverage.

"People can purchase the policy anywhere from 2 years to one day ahead of the event and there is no difference in the cost," said Janet Ruiz, media relations manager for Fireman's Fund. "We developed it to meet the needs of our policyholders when they are having a private event such as a wedding. They face cancellation, liability issues and property issues with the dress, etc."

Besides cold feet, there are many other things that can spoil a wedding or special occasion, including: inclement weather, flooding, power failure, lost or damaged attire, or even no-show photographers. The enhanced policy covers:

Loss of deposits--Refunds lost deposits if venues or professionals (e.g., caterer, disc jockey) fail to provide services.

International destinations--Covers destination weddings (except liability) in the British Isles.

Professional counseling--Covers counseling needed for the emotional distress of a cancelled event.

Cancellation--Pays up to the limit selected for nonrefundable expenses.

Weather--Available for policies purchased 14 days or more before the event.

Photography--Pays costs incurred (including travel for the wedding party) to retake photographs if the photographer fails to appear or if the negatives are lost, damaged, stolen, or not properly developed.

Gifts, special attire, jewelry, rental property damage--Pays to repair or replace such items if they are lost, stolen, or damaged.

Interested in more risk management news and in-depth articles? Head over to Claims' risk management channel for more information.

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader

Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.