Everything doesn't always go as planned when organizing a wedding. Clients can hold you liable for accidents and delays. This is why it’s smart to get insurance as a countermeasure when exposures occur.
Wedding planner insurance is tailored coverage for wedding professionals like you. This is composed of many business insurance policies that shield you against lawsuits, property damage, etc. Read this guide to know more about the specialized insurance for wedding planners.
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Liability insurance, usually sold as a general liability or public libaility policy and professional liability policy is a primary inclusion in the wedding planner insurance programs of many carriers. The sections below explain how each type of wedding planner liability insurance works.
It’s very problematic if you’re held liable for the injuries or property damage sustained by clients, guests, vendors, and other third parties. Consider the following situations:
A poorly installed tent crashes on the guests and causes injuries
Equipment malfunctions and the instruments of the musicians you hired for the wedding got damaged
The catering service you hired poorly prepared the food for the wedding, resulting in the guests getting sick
A technician you hired experienced an accident while installing equipment
The clients came to see how things were going in the venue. One of them tripped over something and sustained injuries
Insurance companies include general liability insurance in tailored wedding planner insurance. This kicks when you’re sued for personal injury claims and property damage claims resulting from any covered exposure. Here’s how general liability insurance works in a nutshell:
If you’re responsible for personal injuries, general liability insurance will cover or reimburse the medical expenses of clients, vendors, and other affected third parties up to the limits stated in its terms
If you’re liable for property damage, general liability insurance will reimburse the losses of clients, vendors, and other third parties up to the limits stated in its terms
Some insurance companies offer general liability insurance for wedding planners having optional products and completed operations coverage and advertising injury coverage:
Products and completed operations coverage-Products and completed operations coverage will cover attorney fees, settlements, administrative costs, and other legal expenses if you’re sued for personal injuries or property damage after planning the wedding of a client
Advertising injury coverage-Advertising injury coverage will cover expenses if you’re sued by a third party for slander, libel, copyright infringement, and other related offenses
Legal expenses-General liability insurance provides the money you can use to cover attorney fees, administrative costs, settlements, and other legal expenses
General liability insurance for wedding planners provides $1 million - $2 million coverage for personal injury claims and property damage claims. Sub-limits apply if it has optional policies. But sometimes, insurance companies implement a combined single-limit.
You can also find insurance companies underwriting a wedding planner general liability insurance having $300,000-$500,000 coverage for personal injuries or property damage. Examples are NEXT and CoverWallet.
Some wedding planners find general liability insurance obsolete. And so, they decide to get public liability insurance instead.
Public liability insurance also covers costs if a personal injury claim or property damage claim is filed against you by clients, guests, vendors, and other third parties. The coverage this insurance provides is $1 million - $2 million.
Note that public liability insurance is more limited in terms of scope. This is because you can’t add optional policies to its terms.
Wedding planners like you have to provide services with finesse and observe the highest degree of professionalism when dealing with clients.
Personal injuries and property damage aren’t the only reasons for you to be sued. Committing errors or failure to observe practices that any reasonable wedding planner should've done is a cause too. General liability insurance can’t take care of this peril. And so, get professional liability insurance.
Professional liability insurance reimburses the losses of the aggrieved clients and pays for legal costs if you’re sued after committing or allegedly committing the following:
Missed deadlines
Providing unsatisfactory output
Negligence
Breach of contract
Violation of fair dealing
Violation of confidentiality
Other acts considered errors and omissions
Professional liability insurance provides $1 million - $2 million coverage. Also, this is available as a claims-made policy or occurrence policy:
Claims-made professional liability insurance-A claims-made professional liability insurance only provides coverage if you file a claim during the time a covered peril happened
Occurrence professional liability insurance-An occurrence professional liability insurance provides coverage regardless of when you decide to use it. The only thing important is that the covered peril happened while the policy is active
You can decide to only have professional liability and general liability or public liability insurance. However, if you want to cover other business exposures aside from lawsuits, then consider adding the following business insurance policies to your wedding planner insurance plan.
Purchase commercial property insurance if you rent, own, or lease an office. This type of wedding planner business insurance covers:
Building destruction-Commercial property insurance will cover reconstruction costs or reimburse losses if your office is destroyed by fire or extreme weather
Building damage-You can use commercial property insurance to recover the costs of damages that resulted from fire, theft, vandalism, hail, storm, and other covered perils
It’s a good idea to include add-ons to commercial property insurance. Such add-ons are stocks and contents coverage and business equipment and tools coverage:
Stocks and contents coverage-Stocks and contents coverage recoups losses if office documents, furniture, lighting, and other valuable items become damaged or lost due to fire, theft, vandalism, and other covered perils
Business equipment and tools coverage-Business equipment and tools coverage will cover losses if computers, generators, and other office equipment become lost or damaged due to fire, theft, vandalism, and other covered perils
Understand that commercial property insurance won’t provide coverage if covered properties are destroyed or damaged by earthquakes, mudslides, floods, or fire you deliberately caused.
Workers' compensation insurance is a requirement if you’re employing one or more people or if you’re in a state where independent professionals must have the coverage. The function of this insurance is to cover the cost of work-related injuries or diseases. Particularly, expenses covered are:
Medical expenses- Workers' compensation insurance will cover ambulance fees, surgeries, therapies, and other medical expenses if you or an employee sustains a work-related injury or disease
Hospitalization-If you or an employee is admitted in the hospital, workers' compensation insurance will cover hospital bills
Medication-You or an employee can use workers' compensation insurance to buy prescription medicines needed to treat a work-related injury or disease
Rehabilitation-Workers compensation insurance covers rehab expenses if you or an employee sustains temporary or permanent impairment due to a work-related injury or disease
Lost income compensation-Workers compensation insurance covers lost income by providing a weekly allowance equal to two-thirds or 67% of the average weekly wage. This will be received until you or an employee is fit enough to work or the duration/amount stated in the policy’s terms is satisfied
Death benefits- Workers' compensation insurance covers funeral expenses and gives an allowance to dependents if you or an employee dies due to a work-related injury or disease
Workers' compensation insurance is expensive. Its monthly cost is $1.50 per $100 of the projected annual average payroll. For example, if your employee earns $50,000 per year, then workers comp is $750 per month.
We suggest you go for a pay-as-you workers compensation insurance. Unlike the usual worker's comp, pay-as-you-go workers' compensation insurance takes the average monthly payroll into account when determining costs. And so, the rates you’ll get are more affordable and accurate.
Commercial auto insurance is also useful. Purchase this one if you’re using your car for business purposes - hauling supplies, meeting clients, fetching employees, and more. Commercial auto insurance provides the following protections:
Auto liability coverage-Your commercial vehicle will cause an accident and injure third parties or damage properties. The job of auto liability coverage is to get injured third parties treated and hospitalized. It will also reimburse the owners of damaged property. If aggrieved third parties decide to press charges, auto liability coverage will also take care of attorney fees, administrative costs, and other legal expenses
Physical Damage Coverage-Physical damage coverage will take care of the damage your commercial vehicle sustains. This has two forms: collision and comprehensive. Collision physical damage coverage will pay for parts repair or replacement if the vehicle you’re using as a wedding planner collided with a vehicle or object and incurred damage. On the other hand, comprehensive physical damage coverage will cover parts repair or replacement if your commercial vehicle incurred damage due to fire, theft, vandalism, hail, storm, and other covered perils
Hired/non-owned auto coverage-Hired/non-owned auto coverage will cover expenses if you caused an accident while using a rented or borrowed commercial vehicle
Rental reimbursement coverage-Rental reimbursement coverage will refund expenditures if you need to rent a commercial vehicle because the one you own is being repaired
MedPay/personal injury protection-Vehicular accidents don't only injure third parties but you too. The purpose of medical payments coverage (MedPay) and personal injury protection is to cover medical and funeral expenses. But note that unlike MedPay, personal injury protection covers compensation for lost income, after-hospital visits, and more
Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage-Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage will cover costs if you got involved in a vehicular accident and the other driver isn’t insured or doesn’t have enough insurance
An employee can commit a crime against you. Recover the resulting losses through employee dishonesty insurance. Employee dishonesty insurance provides coverage if an employee or a group of employees commits the following:
Steals the funds for the wedding
Steals materials for the wedding
Steals commercial property and money
Fraudulent refunds
Unauthorized use of business credit cards
Manipulation of financial records
Employment practices liability insurance will cover legal costs if an employee sues you for sexual harassment, missed work benefits, wrongful termination, and discrimination. On the other hand, employer’s liability insurance will cover expenses if you’re sued for negligence because an employee sustained a work-related injury or disease. Both employer’s liability and employment practices liability insurance can be optional inclusions in workers' compensation insurance.
A few wedding planner insurance companies underwrite rented equipment insurance. As a wedding planner, it’s inevitable for you to rent tents, sound systems, chairs, tables, and other equipment. Rented equipment insurance will refund the owner if the equipment you hired is damaged or lost due to fire, theft, vandalism, and other covered perils.
If you don’t know what types of business insurance to get as a wedding planner, decide to go for a business owner’s policy because it always provides comprehensive protection.
The vast majority of BOPs are made up of two components: liability insurance policy and commercial property insurance policy. A liability insurance policy can either be a general liability policy or a public liability policy, though general liability tends to be more popular because it can protect businesses in more situations.
The other most common component of a wedding planner BOP is a commercial property insurance policy with rented premises coverage, which will typically apply to the venue where the wedding is being held. It comes as no surprise that wedding venues tend to sustain damage throughout rowdy celebrations, so it’s always good to be protected.
However, BOPs aren’t only restricted to these two kinds of insurance, though they are the most common. Many insurance carriers offer additional options that you can implement into your BOP for a relatively affordable price, including contents cover, business interruption coverage, and more.
Wedding coordinator insurance may be offered separately from wedding planner insurance, though both of these kinds of coverage amount to the same thing in most cases. Some insurance companies may use these terms to delineate different policy limits or more expensive/affordable policy premiums.
In these cases, you may end up paying less for wedding coordinator insurance because the insurance company is using this kind of coverage for smaller, more low-key events. However, the terms are also interchangeable depending on the company that you’re working with, so be sure that you do your research.
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Before going out and getting a wedding planning insurance policy, you likely want to know how much you’re going to end up paying for it. Unfortunately, this isn’t that easy to determine in advance because the cost of insurance will depend on a few factors that are unique to your business.
For example, the single most significant thing that you’ll need to consider when it comes to the cost of wedding planning insurance is the size of your wedding business. A larger business will host more elaborate and lavish weddings, meaning that your potential liability will be quite a bit higher.
On the other hand, your premiums will be lower if you have a small wedding planning operation that mainly works on intimate and personal wedding services. Apart from the size of your business, an insurance company will also pay attention to your history in the wedding industry.
For example, if you have a history of organizing weddings where there is no property damage, and nobody has been injured, you’ll pay a reasonable price for your coverage. On the other hand, if your previously planned weddings have turned into disasters, then you can expect to pay quite a bit for your insurance.
| Company | Cost per month | Cost per year | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| CoverWallet | $21 | $252 | Wedding planner insurance quotes comparison online |
| Thimble | $24 | $288 | Short-term insurance for wedding planners |
| NEXT | $26 | $312 | Tailored insurance for wedding planners offering numerous coverages at a discounted price |
| HUB International | $28 | $336 | General liability coverage for wedding planners with hefty limits |
| R.V. Nuccio and Associates | $31 | $372 | Clients looking for high coverage limits |
| Progressive | $35 | $420 | Commercial auto insurance for wedding planners |
The average cost for wedding planner insurance ranges from $31 monthly to $372 yearly for a $1 million general liability coverage. This cost is based on location, size, sales, and experience.
You’ll also need to account for the insurance company that you’re going to be working with when you’re planning out weddings. Picking the right company can save you plenty of headaches, potentially getting you lower premiums, better claims responsiveness, and higher customer service quality.
However, selecting the ideal wedding planning insurance provider may not be that simple if you don’t have a lot of experience shopping for these kinds of policies. Therefore, we’re going to explore some of the top companies in the field so that you have a better idea of how they can best serve you and your needs. Read to know their pros, cons, and pricing for a $1 million general liability coverage.
Stable rates
Cancel a policy anytime
Compare quotes and get insured online
Not an insurance company but an insurance broker
CoverWallet is an insurance broker that will help you find and compare the offers and pricing of carriers offering coverage for wedding planners. But note that this company also sells its own tailored insurance for wedding planners made by customizing the offers of its partners. You have four to choose from - general liability only, general liability and commercial property insurance, business owner’s policy with workers comp insurance, and a custom plan.
Best for: Wedding planner insurance quotes comparison online
Average cost: $21 per month
Our rating: 10/10
You can decide to not have a deductible
Short-term and on-demand insurance for wedding planners
Customers service is only reachable via the Thimble site or app
Thimble’s tailored insurance for wedding planners is a short-term on demand insurance policy offering general liability insurance and professional liability insurance. Work with Thimble because it allows you to not have a deductible. Also, you can get an ACORD 25 certificate of insurance.
Best for: Short-term insurance for wedding planners
Average cost: $24 per month
Our rating: 9/10
Live certificate of insurance
Accommodating online agents
Customers report that NEXT increased their rates without prior notice
NEXT tailored insurance for wedding planners offers general liability insurance, workers’ compensation insurance, commercial auto insurance, professional liability insurance, and commercial property insurance. Decide to work with this company because it ensures you in less than 10 minutes and gives a 10% discount if you decide to purchase two or more insurance products.
Best for: Tailored insurance for wedding planners offering numerous coverages at a discounted price
Average cost: $26 per month
Our rating: 8/10
Quick responsiveness
Specialized coverage
Crime coverage
R.V. Nuccio and Associates, Inc. works with a wide range of providers, including Allianz, AIG, Nationwide, and Fireman’s Fund to provide several forms of niche insurance. The company has over 40 years of experience, making them one of the more qualified options in the niche insurance brokerage space.
R.V. Nuccio combines its event planning and wedding planning policies into one. This policy contains a $1 million liability limit per occurrence and $2 million aggregate per year. It also features property insurance bundled in as well as insurance against employee forgery, theft, and destruction.
Best for: Clients looking for high coverage limits
Average cost: $31 per month
Our rating: 7/10
High liability limit
Features E&O coverage
Affordable
$1,000 deductible.
HUB International is a Canadian insurance brokerage firm that originally began in Eastern Canada but has expanded its operations across Western Canada and the United States. Since then, the company has moved its HQ to Chicago so that it can more easily work with American clients.
HUB International’s policy is pretty versatile, as it includes commercial general liability coverage with a maximum limit of $5 million and a $1,000 deductible. The policy also comes with E&O coverage, and you’ll be covered worldwide. It even comes with coverage for unowned automobiles.
Best for: General liability coverage for wedding planners with hefty limits
Average cost: $28 per month
Our rating: 6/10
Features a few different types of coverage
Optional BOP and Workers’ Comp coverage
Simple online quote process
Expensive
Progressive has been in the insurance business since 1937 when the company first started off selling auto insurance policies. The company has remained true to its moniker by being one of the most progressive companies in the industry, being among the first to pioneer selling insurance over the internet.
Progressive is much like R.V. Nuccio in that it offers wedding planner insurance under the same umbrella as its event planning coverage. This coverage features general liability insurance, professional liability coverage, and a commercial auto insurance policy for any limos or other vehicles being used for the wedding.
Best for: Commercial auto insurance for wedding planners
Average cost: $35 per month
Best for: 5/10
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Use anyone except Employers. Period. They are non-transparent and shameful. After I complained long enough to warrant a call from a supervisor, the supervisor called back from a PRIVATE NUMBER (no caller ID), left a message that they are not reversing their decision (without any communication with me), and failed to leave a phone number for me to call back. She was hiding! They also fact find via email and phone calls, which is terrific for speed and communication. However, after setting a precedence of email or phone calls, they send time sensitive information via email, without any heads up... they are hoping you miss it and forfeit via expiration. Evil policies. Go elsewhere.
This place is an absolute joke of a company and should be ashamed of the way they conduct business. I was hurt on the job at the end of July and it took them just shy of 7 weeks to issue out a paycheck to me. Yes the amount was back dated but still. Not many have the luxury of not receiving a paycheck for almost 2 months. To top it all off, the original adjuster marked me down for the wrong state which caused a problem from the get go, I've had 3 different adjusters now since each one can't seem to figure out the simplicity of my claim. All my paperwork which includes, my job, house, and drs visits all are from the same state and city but yet some how I have been filed under a completely different state 1500 miles away. They do not answer your phone calls or emails no matter how many you leave. I've had to escalate my frustrations to the supervisors of each of these individuals in order to even get some kind of response. I've had more communication and information given to me about my claim from the customer service representatives then the actual adjusters.......... please tell me how that works?! A serious overhaul needs to happen here in order to serve your clients the way they deserve to be taken care of. 10/10 do not recommend this company to a single soul on earth
I have never had the displeasure of working with a more incompetent and disrespectful person in my life. I’m an injured worker and the adjuster that was assigned to my case was named Carrie Furgeson. In the past 6 weeks that I’ve been injured and out of work I have only been able to get ahold of her twice, not for lack of trying. I have left countless voicemails, countless emails, and she ignores them all. When I am finally able to get ahold of her I’m greeted with terrible customer service. She is rude, she talks over me and I’m hardly able to get a word in edgewise. She spelled my name wrong on my documents even after I spelled it for her properly countless times, this caused a whole new issue with my bank. I have bill collectors from the hospital calling me demanding payment and Carrie Furgeson won’t do a single thing to help, or to get them paid. All of my documentation is in Colorado, my job is in Colorado, my address is in Colorado, all my Dr offices and appointments have been in Colorado and Carrie still managed to hold my claim because she wasn’t sure what state she needed to file it under. It’s been 6 weeks since my Injury and my company still hasn’t received the wage paperwork to fill out so they can get me my correct wages. When she’s not ignoring me she’s answering my questions with “I don’t know” well I don’t know how she got this job, because apparently she doesn’t know anything about it. She is a disgusting morose individual inside and out and I genuinely wish her the worst in all of her future endeavors. I highly recommend you don’t use this company. Please if you are a business owner and your looking into this company please don’t use them. I’m sure they have the cheapest payment and that’s why companies use them in the first place, but you will be doing your employees a grave disservice by forcing them to venture into this absolute dumpster fire of a company. I would rate 0/5 if possible but 1 was the lowest I was allowed.
Their general liability insurance purchase process is simply the best online experience I've ever had in my life!
As long as they cover your line of business, you're literally covered! best rates, best coverage, best online experience, best professionals, can't be happier that I chose them!
Not all those who wander are lost.
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