The venue asks for a certificate. The deposits are the part nobody insures.
Liability cover the venue requires, and cancellation cover for the deposits you have already paid — two different policies that get bought as though they were one.
Tell us the situation.
A licensed human replies the same business day — not an auto-responder, and not five producers calling at once. We shop it across our carriers and tell you if the policy you already have is the right one.
We use this to quote and service your insurance, and we do not sell it or pass it to lead networks. Privacy policy.
What wedding businesses actually need.
Event liability
General liability for a single event or a season of them — the cover a venue, park or municipality requires, naming them, before they will confirm the booking.
Without it — Almost every venue requires it named before they will confirm, and most couples buy only this.
Event cancellation
Reimburses the committed costs of an event that cannot go ahead for a reason outside your control — and the exposure peaks before the gates open, because most of the money is spent by then.
Without it — Deposits are non-refundable and are paid a year out, which is the whole exposure.
Liquor liability
If you serve alcohol, your general liability almost certainly excludes what happens after you serve it.
Without it — A cash bar or a licensed supplier moves this beyond host liquor and beyond the base policy.
Inland marine & equipment
Tools, equipment and property in transit. It picks up exactly where commercial property stops, which is the moment the item leaves the building.
Without it — Rented equipment, a marquee, hired furniture and anything in your care on the day.
Umbrella & excess liability
Extra limit stacked above general liability, auto and employers liability. Usually the cheapest million dollars on the policy.
Without it — Some venues specify limits above a million before they will contract.
What wedding operators ask us.
What does the venue actually require?
Liability, usually one or two million per occurrence, with the venue named as additional insured — and that is all it protects. It answers if a guest is injured or the venue is damaged. It does nothing at all if the wedding cannot go ahead, which is the loss most couples are actually worried about and the one they have not bought.
What does cancellation cover actually pay for?
The money already committed and not refundable: the venue deposit, the caterer, the photographer, the band, the dress. Covered reasons are specified rather than open-ended — illness or injury of the couple or close family, a vendor going out of business, extreme weather preventing access, damage to the venue. A change of mind is never covered, and neither is a supplier you knew was in trouble.
When should we buy it?
As soon as the first deposit goes out, which is usually a year or more ahead. Cover is priced on the costs at risk and buying late leaves the earliest commitments uninsured — and no insurer will write a weather peril once a named storm is in the forecast for your date.
We are getting married abroad. Does it still work?
It changes the policy rather than ruling it out. Territorial limits, local venue requirements and whether a claim would be handled in that jurisdiction all matter, and some countries require locally issued cover before a venue will contract. Say where and when as early as possible; retrofitting a destination onto a domestic policy is the slow version.
Not ready to talk? The guides answer the questions this page raises in more depth. Already insured with us and need a certificate or a policy change? Ask the service team rather than starting a quote — it is faster and it goes to the people whose job it is. We also write home and auto, which is usually cheaper alongside the business policy than apart from it.