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Wedding insurance corona virus

[Deleted User]

We're getting married in June and I want to take out wedding insurance for the possibility of the government banning mass gatherings (if possible). Most wedding insurance policies I have read don't inclue this. Does anyone have any suggestions? If this isn't possible, I would just get insurance to cover the hotel not being able to host and the band not turning up due to them not wanting to risk catching it.

I personally think we will all be grand by June, but I would pay for piece of mind!

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PhilOssophy

Ya haven't a hope of getting any insurance to cover something they know is happening.

jamesf85

PhilOssophy wrote: »

Ya haven't a hope of getting any insurance to cover something they know is happening.

We emailed them last week before taking out insurance and they clarified that if the venue can't host the wedding because of a contagious disease then we are covered or if the department of foreign affairs issues a statement advising against travel to the area that the wedding is taking place.

We paid for insurance on this pretense. At the time there was no official line from government here at the time and the outbreak in Spain (wedding location) wasn't as bad. We specifically asked them about covid 19 and if it gets worse and they said we would be covered if we can't fly or if the area is locked down.

Then on Monday we got an email saying as of 5pm that day they will no longer be covering covid19 in their policy. This in itself shows anyone up until that time were covered for it.

Thankfully we are covered as we took out the policy before 5pm on Monday.

woodchuck

We have ours with weddinginsurance.ie and they have the following on their website now:
Please note that any new wedding policy issued after 6pm on 10th March 2020, will no longer provide cover for claims resulting from Covid-19 (Coronavirus).

I've a friend getting married this Sunday. She's still planning to go ahead atm with less than 100 guests (not difficult, lots of drop out). That could all change though

jamesf85

Not much will change between now and Sunday. It's a pain but look it's only one day. If it needs to be postponed then it's a pain but there are much worse things.

In regards to the outbreak as a wole, hopefully these measures will help curb it a little. I'm not sure if many remember the swine flu around 10 years ago.

It killed between 150,000 and 500,000 worldwide and infected up to 1.4 billion. But twitter, instagram and smartphones weren't as prevalent so people weren't as aware of it even though it killed 475 in Ireland.

Lets hope this isn't as bad.

woodchuck

Tbh we're still half expecting her to postpone the wedding for this Sunday. The venue are telling her that they'll have to pay for 100 guests because they have all the food ordered in, but there could be a lot less than that. She's had so many people drop out. I'm not sure what her number is down to, but she had a lot that were supposed to travel from abroad. And even some people who are local are dropping out because they're worried about catching something and transmitting it to vulnerable people in their family.

She was trying to get onto her wedding insurance earlier to see if they'd cover the difference in cost. Naturally she was having a hard time getting through to them...

Update: My friends wedding is off

The venue cancelled because one of their staff members is being tested for the virus.

skallywag

That's a right balls Woodchuck.

I would unfortunately not be holding out on the insurers coming through either, I believe that sometime like this current situation cannot actually be insured against.

Though if the venue cancelled, then you are covered I guess?

jamesf85

skallywag wrote: »

That's a right balls Woodchuck.

I would unfortunately not be holding out on the insurers coming through either, I believe that sometime like this current situation cannot actually be insured against.

Though if the venue cancelled, then you are covered I guess?

I'm not sure how they wouldn't have to pay out.

They're specifically saying that you are covered if you took the insurance out before a certain time.

Their whole purpose is to offer protection in these eventualities. They had every right to refuse to insure, once they accept the risk then they don't really have an out. They were privy to the same (if not more) information as the general public.

The current situation is an infectious disease outbreak. It's not the first time it's ever happened.

woodchuck

I think because the venue themselves have cancelled, she should be ok - they'd have to let her transfer the booking to another date surely.

From what I've been hearing, other suppliers are being really decent too and letting people transfer the deposits/payments to another date.

Might not even resort to the insurance.

I'm sure she's absolutely devastated though. We're all offering to help, but what can we do?

Genuinely, if anyone has any advice for how we help her though this I'm all ears.

Neyite

If your insurance was taken out in good faith - as in, at the time of purchase you had no reason to suspect your wedding or elements of your wedding would get cancelled, AND they have a clause in the policy that covers cancellation then you would likely have cover.

I think we will see most vendors and venues do their best to help people caught out badly by this. I'd imagine that any supplier not offering some sort of alternative down the line will get a lashing online given this is nobodys' fault. The flip side is that I've seen chatter of venues telling couples who have to cancel that they'll do their best to see them right at a later date, whenever that is.

My contingency plan if it's still like this when my wedding comes around is to see if the celebrant will go ahead on the date with the two required witnesses, then have the reception at another time - my venue have said they'll honour that and if the DIY elements of our honeymoon can't refund via Travel or Wedding Insurance I'll ask the hotel to defer our paid booking to a later date. My guess is that I'd lose a max of 2.5k if it all went tits up which sucks, but in the grand scheme of things is an amount I could live with if I had to.

PhilOssophy

I think most hotels, etc will be reasonable and offer you an alternative day. Its better than a wedding in this hysteria.

jamesf85

Neyite wrote: »

If your insurance was taken out in good faith - as in, at the time of purchase you had no reason to suspect your wedding or elements of your wedding would get cancelled,

I take our car insurance knowing that there is a possibility I'll be in an accident.

I took out wedding insurance as there was a virus that could potentially disrupt my wedding. The insurance company were aware of that. They have acknowledged that new policies don't include cover for covid 19, meaning old ones did.

You could argue any reason a wedding might be cancelled, you suspected it might have happened and was why you took it out in the first place.

skallywag

I would hazard a guess that a pandemic may be outside of the terms of their T&C's.

Fine print reading time I guess ...

skallywag

jamesf85 wrote: »

Their whole purpose is to offer protection in these eventualities.

I think that is the whole crux of the argument though.

'these eventualities' have not honestly existed in the last one hundread years.

That said I have no idea to be honest how it will pan out, I am at sea as much as the rest of us.

DodgeS

We are set to be married on the 27th of March, as per contract the only way we get our money back is if the venue cancels (pandemics is listed as one of the reasons they may cancel). They have closed doors to the public until the 30th of March but have said they will be open for our wedding with some minor changes to the schedule as we have less than 100 guests.

We have had to postpone for now out of courtesy to our guests and to bring at least some certainty for ourselves and everyone else. Would have preferred if the venue had cancelled but obviously they want the business and are currently not breaking any restrictions.

Contacting suppliers now to see what can be done. Hopefully all of them are sound.

Eggs For Dinner

jamesf85 wrote: »

They may fight it, but what judge is going to rule in their favour? The entire world knew about the outbreak.

Including yourself, that's where you may fall down

Your policy document is king. If the wording allows it you're fine. If it is endorsed to exclude it, you're not

jamesf85

Eggs For Dinner wrote: »

Including yourself, that's where you may fall down

Your policy document is king. If the wording allows it you're fine. If it is endorsed to exclude it, you're not

I read their documentation before taking it out.

It said if there is a contagious disease outbreak then you are covered or if flights are suspended meaning you can't travel you are also covered.

There were no travel restrictions in place at the time.

The also have on their website that they no longer cover for covid19 as of 10 March. Our policy was taken out the 9th.

Eggs For Dinner

jamesf85 wrote: »

I read their documentation before taking it out.

It said if there is a contagious disease outbreak then you are covered or if flights are suspended meaning you can't travel you are also covered.

There were no travel restrictions in place at the time.

The also have on their website that they no longer cover for covid19 as of 10 March. Our policy was taken out the 9th.

Just make sure your policy documents reflect the cover you read before taking it out.

woodchuck

woodchuck wrote: »

Update: My friends wedding is off The venue cancelled because one of their staff members is being tested for the virus.

By some miracle, they actually managed to get married yesterday. They found another venue and it was just a very small group for the ceremony and a meal. I think the same venue is shutting their doors today, so they were very lucky under the circumstances.

woodchuck

For anyone who is still interested in the insurance situation, there is a debating raging on Facebook...

It's a bit all over the place, but it was previously communicated by weddinginsurance.ie that they would cover coronavirus. See the following link:
https://www.rsvplive.ie/life/weddings/late-take-out-wedding-insurance-21666162?fbclid=IwAR1SZm9Cg5UqgW4tdAeX5dc7rLTHaXaaUF17NgXEPia-16qvgPx043rJv-E
In addition, screenshots have been shared on Facebook where this question was asked and they responded to confirm that they would be covered. This is under the following part of the policy (pasted from my own policy, taken out last year):

"What You Are Covered For:
We will pay up to the amount shown in the
Summary for any irrecoverable expenses incurred
by You in respect of Ceremonial Attire /
Bridal Attire, flowers, photographs, caterers,
transport, accommodation and the services from
any other wedding supplier booked but not used
as a direct result of the unavoidable cancellation
or curtailment of the Wedding or Wedding
Reception as the result of:
1. the booked venue for the Wedding or Wedding Reception being unable to hold Your Wedding due to an outbreak of infectious or contagious disease, damage to the venue, murder or suicide at the premises
or closure of the venue by the relevant authority"

However, one bride is now sharing a conversation they've had with weddinginsurance.ie very recently where they are stating that they are NOT covered by coronavirus (FYI she took the policy out before 10th March). The response stated that they are not covered due to the following part of the policy wording:
"What You Are Not Covered For:
1. the first €50 of each and every claim 2. pecuniary losses recoverable from any other
source 3. Any claim arising directly or indirectly from:
a) government regulation or act
b) strikes or labour disputes
c) unemployment other than redundancy as
specified in 1(5) above"

So I guess there was a window where people were being covered by the insurance (weddings were still allowed to go ahead, but less than 100 people). But at the moment, for anyone who needs to reschedule their wedding, it sounds like weddinginsurance.ie are not willing to cover it

Neyite

If she's got written confirmation from them that it would be covered then she should stand her ground on that and keep insisting that they confirmed on X date that her policy covered her.

I think most vendors though are transferring dates and deposits for people and not leaving them out of pocket so unless someone's at a financial loss then they wouldn't be claiming I suppose.

I've got my venue to change the date to an as-yet-unknown one, same with my honeymoon accommodation so I'm not out of pocket thankfully, but it must be so hard for people right now who have spent loads and it's all one big mess now.

woodchuck

The conversations where the insurance company said they'd cover were with another person. A lot of people are saying they should fight them tooth and nail though. But tbh, I sounds pretty iron clad from their T&Cs that while they would have covered people before it was a government regulation/act, once it got to the point where it was a government act/regulation, they're not going to pay up

I'd still challenge it personally, but I wouldn't be holding my breath.

So have you officially decided to postpone your wedding Neyite? We're not till September and still holding out some shred of hope

I have a freak out about it every other day though and my OH has to talk me down from contacting our venue!

woodchuck

Neyite wrote: »

I think most vendors though are transferring dates and deposits for people and not leaving them out of pocket so unless someone's at a financial loss then they wouldn't be claiming I suppose.

Yes, where suppliers are available for the new date, they're transferring to the deposit to the new date. I think the issue though is that not all suppliers are available for the new date and keeping the deposit. And some of the deposits are pretty chunky.

Neyite

woodchuck wrote: »

So have you officially decided to postpone your wedding Neyite? We're not till September and still holding out some shred of hope I have a freak out about it every other day though and my OH has to talk me down from contacting our venue!

It's still up in the air.

But I've chatted to the venue and they've said they could mobilise for the wedding very quickly even from a couple of weeks before. It's probably for my guests who are travelling to it from outside Ireland that I need to decide sooner rather than later - but I can't decide anything if there are no flights for them to come.

I must ask the priest or the registrar actually if we could still get married if our witnesses are witnessing remotely. That would be interesting.

woodchuck

Yeah, I'm thinking of the guests too. Ideally I'd things to be returning to normal a few months ahead of time. Even then I can see a lot of people just being too scared to book flights until this is all a very distant memory

We still have some loose ends we need time to organise ourselves. For example the rings - we were told to do this 3 months ahead of time. Himself still has to sort out the suits. I need shoes. And that's just off the top of my head. Sorry, my point is, even if things are resolved by September, we might not have the time to get ourselves organised.

Our celebrant said she'd contact us about 6 months out so we could start working on the ceremony. We haven't heard from her yet. I'd like to get the ball rolling on that, but she's probably up to her eyes at the moment with brides postponing. Not sure how long to leave it though.

Shelli2

We just pulled the trigger on postponement, from May 2nd to October 3rd.....if it goes on ant longer we're going to cancel all together and elope when it's all over, I just couldn't face any more rearranging.
Please god we can go ahead in Oct.

We've lost our band and ceremony musician, so the hunt is on!

Salary Negotiator

Just saw on RTE news that the Central Bank has written to insurance companies and told them that if there is any ambiguity in the terms of the insurance policy they have to find in favour of the policy holder and not the insurance company.

So hopefully that means people who have had to cancel can claim successfully.

woodchuck

Salary Negotiator wrote: »

Just saw on RTE news that the Central Bank has written to insurance companies and told them that if there is any ambiguity in the terms of the insurance policy they have to find in favour of the policy holder and not the insurance company.

So hopefully that means people who have had to cancel can claim successfully.

Oh, that's interesting! Do you have a link?

Shelli2, I'm sorry you've had to postpone. Fingers crossed things will settle down later in the year.

HildaOgdenx

woodchuck wrote: »

Oh, that's interesting! Do you have a link?

Shelli2, I'm sorry you've had to postpone. Fingers crossed things will settle down later in the year.

https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2020/0327/1126857-central-bank-clarifies-issues-relating-to-insurance/

Haven't read this, but spotted it earlier on the RTE website.

PhilOssophy

woodchuck wrote: »

Yeah, I'm thinking of the guests too. Ideally I'd things to be returning to normal a few months ahead of time. Even then I can see a lot of people just being too scared to book flights until this is all a very distant memory

We still have some loose ends we need time to organise ourselves. For example the rings - we were told to do this 3 months ahead of time. Himself still has to sort out the suits. I need shoes. And that's just off the top of my head. Sorry, my point is, even if things are resolved by September, we might not have the time to get ourselves organised.

Our celebrant said she'd contact us about 6 months out so we could start working on the ceremony. We haven't heard from her yet. I'd like to get the ball rolling on that, but she's probably up to her eyes at the moment with brides postponing. Not sure how long to leave it though.

Don't panic - you will be surprised how quickly you can turn a lot of those things around. Get everything you can sort out now done, and then there will always be a way of getting everything else sorted out.

Of the list above in my experience :
- rings : a week max
- suits : a few days, with alterations. If you need it quicker, most shops (particularly in rural towns) will turn this around quicker. Our suits were done in a day or two I think.
- shoes. Don't know, I'm not a woman, but it'd hardly take that long?!

And don't forget - to anybody organising a wedding, it is 1 day and your guests will understand cancellations/changes/reduced numbers/etc at the moment. The thing that is not perfect on the day, it is about 99% likely that only you will notice! If the groom has to wear his work suit, what about it!

I feel terrible for anyone organising a wedding, having done it a couple of years ago it is hard work. I have had 1 wedding invite changed to early next year, and it doesn't bother me or anyone even though I had an AirBnb etc booked. What about it. These are extraordinary times so don't worry, it is 100% better for your wedding to go ahead on a new date than have the stress of not knowing.

Stay safe all and the wedding plans will be fine. I hope those with weddings for later in the year get to have their big day, but if it has to change people won't mind!

woodchuck

Thanks for that PhilOssophy

We were told 3 months for the rings (same place I got my engagement ring), but hopefully that could be shortened if needs be. And yeah, I'm less worried about the suits, himself has a wardrobe full anyway :P

- shoes. Don't know, I'm not a woman, but it'd hardly take that long?!

I have very awkward feet. They're very very wide, so I find it really difficult to find something that fits comfortably. I've been keeping an eye out for new runners for about 6 months with no luck :rolleyes:

I've heard good things about rainbow club and that curvy brides in Bray stock them. So before all the coronavirus stuff kicked off, I was going to call them to see what they have in stock and make an appointment to try them on. If they don't have any of the wide fitting ones in stock, I was going to risk ordering them online... no idea how long that would take though and then if they don't fit I've to return them and start again from square one.

My dress (if it's ready on time) is tea length. So my feet will be on display for the whole day

I currently don't own anything else that I could use on the day (all my shoes are black).

Sorry, I don't know how the pandemic turned into a shoe discussion :pac: