Jilted Bride Sues for $100,000; Wedding Insurance Would've Been Cheaper
For the few among us who still believe in marriage, December is the most popular month to get engaged. So I
am guessing that makes January the big month for diving into the wedding planning. But after reading about a jilted bride in Chicago now suing her almost-ex for almost $100,000, I have a suggestion for all the recently engaged (and the parents who foot the bill): Put buying wedding insurance on your To Do list. A premium typically costs just $200 to $500, and one insurer does indeed offer special coverage for a "change of heart."
I realize a wedding insurance policy lacks the emotional punch of a lawsuit if you're the jilted party, but I am charged with dispensing financial advice, and wedding insurance makes a ton of sense. Besides, it's not just about the jilt factor. Wedding insurance will also protect you from more common cancellation/postponement events such as an illness, really bad weather that prevents key players or guests from making it into town, or vendors you've hired not showing up.
Altared State
As reported in the Chicago Sun-Times, jilted bride-to-be Dominique A. Buttitta is seeking more than $95,000 in damages after her fiancé called the whole thing off and allegedly left Buttitta with a slew of expenses, including $30,000 to reserve a banquet hall for the 200-plus guests and $11,000 for flowers.
Granted, six figures is a steep wedding bill, but even if you're looking to spend a fraction of that, protecting your investment with a policy that costs just a few hundred dollars should be part of your wedding plans. And hey, in this anything-goes-age of unconventional wedding registries, there's nothing keeping you from putting the policy up on your wish list.
Wedding Insurance Basics
A handful of insurance companies offer wedding insurance policies, including Traveler's, Aon, and Fireman's Fund. The Fireman's wedding insurance policy, offered through the National Alliance of Special Event Planners, includes the "change of heart" coverage. A few caveats on that coverage for the jilted: the policy must be purchased by someone other than the bride and groom, and it must have been purchased at least four months before the planned wedding date. (Each of the three sites linked above have online calculators that will quickly spit out an estimated premium cost based on the particular level of coverage you want.)
Rare jiltings aside, wedding insurance will come in handy to cover more common costly snafus that can lead to postponement/cancellation, including:
Bad weather. We're talking biblical-bad weather -- the sort of rain, snow, and wind that closes down airports or the roads your guests need to take to get to the venue, or shuts down the venue itself. As the Fireman's policy feels obligated to point out, "dark skies and light rainfall alone won't qualify as reason enough to cancel your wedding."
Unexpected illness. This will cover you if the bride, groom, or "key" members of the wedding party can't make the event and it has to be canceled or rescheduled. That said, if you're planning an adventurous bachelor and bachelorette party, read the fine print of your policy. Policies typically won't cover injuries or illness due to mishaps involving skydiving, hunting, skiing, or racing at high speeds. Nor will they cover a really, really bad hangover that keeps you from making the event. And if anyone ends up in jail overnight -- just saying -- and can't make it to the festivities, that's not going to be covered, either.
If you do need to cancel/postpone for legitimate reasons covered by your policy, you can be reimbursed for a slew of expenses, including lost deposits for everyone from the venue to the photographer to the caterer. And if a venue cancels on you, some wedding insurance policies provide "extra expense" coverage to offset what you'll need to fork out to secure another spot.
Now if any or all of that causes you emotional distress, you're also in luck, at least financially. You can also purchase coverage that will help pay for any shrink sessions needed to work through the setback.
Coverage for Smaller Snafus
Wedding insurance policies also provide coverage against hiccups that don't impede the exchanging of vows, but result in financial loss, including:
- Lost jewelry
- Lost/damaged wedding attire
- Photos/video that are never delivered
One Last Tip
Given that I have already sucked all the romance out of the wedding planning, I figure there's no harm mentioning one other important financial planning step the newly-engaged should consider: Yes, a prenuptial agreement. MoneyWatch's Stacey Bradford recently provided a good run-down of how to approach getting a pre-nuptial agreement in place. I get the ick-factor of this, but we've also got a national divorce rate near 50 percent. At the very least, check out Kathy Kristof's 4 Money Talks to Have Before Marriage to increase the odds you will be in the happily-ever-after contingent. Also, as Jane Bryant Quinn points out, if you are remarrying, a prenup is vitally important if you or your intended want to protect assets you plan to pass along to your children from a previous relationship.
Photo courtesy of Flickr user Shelly Panzarella
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