Auto Insurance vs. Wedding Insurance – Comparison and Contrast

August 8, 2019 • Grant Patten

"You wouldn't think of not insuring your car, so why wouldn't you insure your wedding?"

In this post, we’ll compare and contrast auto insurance to wedding insurance, making three points as to why anyone should consider purchasing both insurance policies. We’ve also designed an infographic to convey these points visually.

Point 1: The investments are comparable. So why not insure both?

The cost of a new car is, on average, approximately $37K according to data published by Kelley Blue Book. The cost of auto insurance is approximately $2,500 a year.

According to The Knot, the average cost of a wedding in the US has risen to $33,931. And the cost of wedding insurance is approximately $300. Given these similar capital costs but the much lower insurance cost for a wedding, it makes sense to go ahead and insure not just your car but also your wedding.

A wedding insurance policy can help protect couples against the most common wedding insurance claims, such as vendor problems, alcohol-fueled guest injuries, severe weather and property damage. In 2018, 41% of Travelers’ wedding claims were due to vendor issues and 22% were due to property damage caused by wedding day accidents. Severe weather events also factored into a significant amount (18%) of claims.

Point 2: One is legally mandated, the other isn’t, but laws and history can change…

Of course, you’re required to insure your car, but no one forces you to insure your big day. But this may not always be the case. Nowadays, we take auto insurance for granted – of course it’s legally required! But there was a time – pre-1930 – when the idea of legally requiring auto insurance was actually quite controversial and engendered much public debate.

Widespread use of the motor car began after WWI in urban areas. Cars were relatively fast and dangerous then, yet there was still no mandatory form of auto insurance anywhere in the world. This meant that injured victims seldom got any compensation in an accident and drivers faced considerable costs to repair their car. Finally, a mandatory auto insurance scheme was introduced and debated in the UK with the Road Traffic Act 1930; Germany followed up with similar legislation in 1939.

Similarly, we’ve seen more and more unfortunate incidents occurring at weddings around the world, including serious injuries to guests (often caused by alcohol-fueled parties) and significant financial losses to the couple due to event cancellation or wedding gift theft. Here are just some examples of such incidents:

In April 2019, a couple in St. Peters, Missouri had a gift card box with about $2,800 cash in it stolen from their wedding. Like many couples, they had included a gift table with a box on it for people to place cards and money inside.
In February 2019, KTLA reported that a well-dressed wedding crasher stole a card box filled with cash gifts worth an estimated $10,000 from a Monrovia, California-area wedding.
In December 2018, Daily Mail reported on a wedding in Ludhiana in Punjab, India, where alcohol was being served for free. The wedding day ended in a chaotic brawl (much of it caught on video), with many drunken guests throwing chairs and plates at each other.
In September 2018, a serial wedding-gift thief from Eugene, Oregon pleaded guilty to felony charges of aggravated first-degree theft. Brian Keith Starr stole $18,737 worth of items from five Oregon-area weddings that year.
In November 2014, ABC reported on a wedding in Hobart, Tasmania that ended with the bride in the hospital and the groom and best man under arrest because of an alcohol-fueled brawl at their wedding reception. It took six police units to bring the situation under control.

These examples all attest to the fact that – while obviously not as deadly as auto-related incidents – wedding-related incidents are nevertheless quite serious and have real negative impact on all involved. It is conceivable, then, that as such unfortunate incidents become more and more common, public sentiment will eventually turn toward making wedding insurance mandatory.

Point 3: Additional coverage can (and likely should) be added onto both policies.

When someone purchases auto insurance, their assumption is often that they’re covered under all circumstances. However, if they don’t have comprehensive insurance, their vehicle won’t necessarily be protected in situations like theft, vandalism and weather damage. It would be ideal to get comprehensive coverage to cover incidents beyond car crashes.

Similarly, a basic wedding insurance policy normally provides General Liability Coverage for damage to the wedding venue and injury to third parties.

Buy Wedding Liability Insurance

Under Front Row’s Wedding Liability Insurance policy (Canada), policies start at $105 (subject to change) and the coverage can be purchased online in six minutes or less.

Are you in the US? Wedding insurance in the US can be arranged quickly through our online program.