With The Cost Of Weddings On The Rise, Markel American Insurance Company Reminds Brides To Keep Their Wedding Safe By Insuring The Big Day

Waukesha, WI (PRWEB) May 11, 2012

According to a recent research study from The Knot.com and The Wedding Channel, the average cost of a wedding in 2011 was $27,000 — about the same as a brand new car. For the first time since 2008, the cost of weddings in America is on the rise. Though brides (and grooms) are spending more than ever to ensure that their big day is special, in most cases they don’t take steps to insure that the day will be safe from harm. Good news for the savvy couple — Markel American Wedding Insurance offers brides and grooms peace of mind with customized Wedding and Special Event Insurance. If something goes wrong related to the wedding, this specialty insurance can cover it, making sure those memories of the big day bring back happy thoughts instead of painful ones for years to come.

According to Markel American, the increase in wedding spending means that people are creating more elaborate and beautiful weddings, but with higher costs, the potential pitfalls of the big day are also increasing. To protect the bride and groom’s plans, Markel American offers two separate components of insurance for events. Cancellation coverage and liability coverage focus on multiple aspects of the big day — making sure that, financially, the couple isn’t responsible for the actions of others, or accidents, that can cause big problems.

What’s not commonly known is that most of the nightmares that happen during weddings could have been avoided with a simple wedding insurance plan. Extreme weather, illness and injury, missing vendors, out-of-business locations, damage to wedding apparel and professional counseling are all things that Markel American covers.

Extreme weather and other sad circumstances happen more often than couples may think. Wedding expert Anja Winikka, editor of TheKnot.com, was recently a guest on the nationally broadcast television show “Anderson” where she shared the story of a couple whose wedding was destroyed by a hurricane. The couple didn’t have wedding insurance, and Winikka’s point was, unfortunately, this is common among today’s brides — but shouldn’t be.

“Buy wedding insurance,” Winikka said. “A lot of people don’t know that it exists — but it’s the best way to recoup some of those costs.”

One couple who purchased Markel wedding insurance admitted that at first, they didn’t know that it existed — but it helped save their special day. Robin Kurkhill, a bride from New York, and her husband Wilson were forced to cancel their wedding celebration due to Hurricane Irene. New York City had shut down all public transportation in light of the hurricane, and even the bride and groom couldn’t get to their ceremony.

“We certainly weren’t planning on seeing a hurricane come through on our wedding day— but our venue required us to have a liquor permit, and when I saw that event insurance was also offered, I thought it was a great idea,” said Kurkhill. “We were so happy and thankful we had this insurance because now, we can plan the wedding again — in fact, we got a reimbursement check one week after our wedding was supposed to have taken place.”

To help couples select the package that best fits their needs, Markel American offers both standalone liability insurance (protecting the couple when Aunt Edith takes a spill during the twist and ends up in the hospital) and wedding cancellation insurance (which would cover a vendor going out of business).

Markel also combines policies to make a custom plan that covers almost anything that goes wrong on (or around) the big day — from a caterer not showing up to a flower girl dropping the wedding band into a lake or a freak blizzard causing the postponement of a beautiful spring wedding. Another benefit is that Markel American’s event insurance plans don’t stop when the party is over — certain policies can cover wedding gifts, jewelry and photos for up to seven days after the actual wedding.

“Brides and grooms have enough on their minds without worrying about the worst-case scenario,” says Ted Wentzel, director of marketing for Markel American Insurance. “We know how important all the different components that go into the big day are — and if something goes wrong, we’re here to make it better.”

According to Markel American, vendors and venue-related issues make up about a third of all event insurance claims — something that can put a serious kink in the wedding plans. This may seem minor, but an additional finding from The Knot.com’s study was that a large part of the wedding budget is spent on the reception location and vendors — with the average couple spending $196 per guest.

For about the same price as the cost of an additional guest, the couple can purchase wedding insurance to protect their big day and provide some peace of mind. All brides and grooms in the midst of putting down non-refundable deposits on a caterer, photographer or reception hall should consider wedding insurance, and the difference between having a stress-free wedding and being part of the horror story.

About Markel American Insurance Company
Markel American Insurance Company (part of Markel Corporation) is a specialty insurance provider that offers specialized event cancellation and event liability coverages for events including (but not limited to) weddings, baptisms, birthdays, business meetings, and nonprofit functions. For more information, visit http://www.markeleventinsurance.com.

About Markel Corporation
Markel Corporation markets and underwrites specialty insurance products and programs to a variety of niche markets. In each of these markets, the company seeks to provide quality products and excellent customer service so that it can be a market leader. The financial goals of the company are to earn consistent underwriting profits and superior investment returns to build shareholder value. For more information on the Markel Group of companies, please visit http://www.markelcorp.com.

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