In India wedding is considered to be very auspicious occasion. In India, the wedding market, pegged at about Rs 1.25 lakh crore, is growing at 25 per cent per annum.
A three-day cocktail event may take away Rs 1.5 crore from your pocket and the cost of a
Grand wedding day can start from Rs 2.5 crore – a very popular concept these days. According to Tarun Sarda, CEO, Vivaha Interactive, which organizes wedding-related annual exhibitions says, “The most expensive are the wedding décor and entertainment. A fairly well-known entertainer would command Rs 30 lakh for an evening’s performance.”
In India there is no provision for the recovery of loss if some mishappening occurs, but in western countries there is an insurance cover against the loss of the wedding ring, the elaborate wedding gown not reaching on time, or even the non-appearance of the photographer to cover the gala event.
But in India the concept is not very popular yet. Except for a few nationalized companies and a clutch of private players, not many insurers provide such a cover.
T A Ramalingam, head, underwriting, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, told DNA Money, “Such plans are still in their nascent stages due to low awareness and, given the sacred nature of the ritual, nobody wants to discuss the negatives.”
In the west people are aware of wedding insurance plans whereas, in India, wedding insurance is more of a customized event insurance plan which includes all specific risks related to a wedding.
In India wedding planners consider wedding insurance makes sense as heavy expenses are involved. Wedding insurance usually covers fire or allied perils like accidents to the bride, groom or their blood relatives, burglary of jewellery, clothes or valuables, wedding cancellation due to legitimate and specified causes, damage to the venue by natural causes or acts of crime/terror, and, in certain cases, even food poisoning.
At present Bajaj Allianz has a wedding package product with four sum insured options, starting from Rs 20 lakh-Rs 70 lakh. The premium ranges from Rs 3,770 to Rs 14,276.
Kartik Jain, head, marketing, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, said: “These (the company’s policies) are personalized covers and each event differs from the other. The insured amount and the premiums are decided on a case to case basis. Premiums vary from 0.75-1 per cent of the total sum insured.”
ICICI Lombard is having a general event policy, which provides cover for cancellation of the wedding due to unforeseen perils, for eg, if the marriage hall gets flooded or there is an occurrence of earthquake, the irreversible cost of the wedding will be reimbursed as per the policy terms and conditions.
Along with this material damage to property like stage, seats and wardrobe due to fire and public liability are also covered.
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