While the concept of insurance is picking up in India, inspite of the low wedding insurance costsinsuring personal events like weddings, etc., is not very popular.
Weddings in India, nowadays, are more than just a meeting of two hearts. It's a once in a lifetime event where the bride and the groom are the heroines and heroes of the day. Like any big, expensive event, one needs to insure the weddings too.
While the concept of insurance is picking up in India, inspite of the low wedding insurance costsinsuring personal events like weddings, etc., is not very popular. "Insurance is viewed negatively. And at an auspicious occasion like a wedding, most people do not want to talk about anything untoward or bad happening," says KG Krishnamoorthy Rao, MD and CEO, Future Generali India Insurance.
"In all these years, none of my clients have asked for insurance for their weddings,'' says Aloha Mehta, a Mumbai-based wedding planner who specialises in destination weddings.
But given that most weddings in India are expensive affairs, it does make sense to take insurance for the same. The ticket size for an average wedding is in the region of Rs 50 lakhs to Rs 2 crore. The big weddings can be anything upwards of Rs 20 crore going up to a jaw-dropping Rs 200 crore.
The huge wedding costs are not surprising given that inspired by celluloid weddings or foreign weddings, it is de rigueur these days to have a destination wedding in exotic places like the palaces or havelis of Rajasthan or a holiday destination like Goa. For the more adventurous, there are weddings in the air or underwater.
Irrespective of caste and traditions, almost all weddings have multiple events like mehendi, sangeet, bachelor / spinster party. Each event is usually a mini-event in itself, with the cost running into lakhs, if not crores.
If the wedding is cancelled or postponed for any reason, apart from the emotional trauma, the financial burden cannot be wished away. "Instead, if the wedding were insured, then at least the host would be spared the financial worries,'' says Krishnamoorthy Rao.
The premium for wedding policies is in the range of about 2-3%. "When you can get peace of mind for a very low premium, why not?'' asks Rao.
"Most of the lavish weddings probably involve a lot of cash dealings, due to which it may not be possible to claim insurance,'' point out informed sources.
Usually, in very high-profile weddings all the arrangements are done by one big event management company. "But in most other weddings, there is fragmentation of costs as different vendors like florists, caterers, etc., provide the various services,'' says Mehta.
Given the amount of money spent on weddings, it does make financial sense to insure at least some aspects like the venue, the insanely expensive designer clothes, etc. "The bride's outfit alone could cost more than a lakh,'' avers Mehta.
While most insurance companies cover some aspects of a wedding under the event insurance policies, companies like Future Generali and ICICI Lombard have special policies for wedding insurance.
"Basically, wedding insurance protects a couple's investment from circumstances beyond their control, and reimburses the expenses that they incur in it. For example, what if your designer wedding dress is lost in airport baggage and you have to buy a new one a day before your wedding? These are the types of big day financial losses that wedding insurance can help to protect,'' says Anil Chopra- group CEO and director, Bajaj Capital.
Interestingly, wedding insurance policies do not cover cases where either the bride or the groom changes his or her mind at the venue of the wedding. "Insurers call it a 'cold feet issue' and this is not covered under the insurance policy,'' clarifies Chopra.
Given that wedding policies come at a very meager premium, it is definitely worth transferring the financial risk of weddings to insurers so as to peacefully enjoy the big fat Indian wedding.
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