Hearing wedding bells? Remember to renew your home insurance

As anyone who’s tied the knot will know, there’s a lot to think about when it comes to planning a wedding. And then a little more on top when you’ve considered all of that. So it’s unlikely that home insurance will be on your list of important priorities when the time comes to get married.

First of all, there’s the venue for the ceremony and the reception. Who’s going to come? Where are they going to stay? Who will provide the entertainment. What will everyone eat? What about a honeymoon? Or the dress? It’s exhausting just to list all the things that need to be done, let alone to actually carry them all out in time for the big day. Especially considering that there’s something you’re bound to forget, whether it’s forgetting to invite that second cousin twice removed or booking enough hotel rooms. It’s hardly surprising that many couples spend many months or even years sorting everything out.

Considering all this, it’s normal that some of the less interesting aspects of getting married can be pushed to the back of the queue – or completely forgotten. In many cases, this may well be your home insurance. You may well be wondering why this is even an issue – until, that is, you tot up how much your wedding list is worth. Although they’d never admit it, for many couples getting a load of free stuff is a big attraction when it comes to getting married, especially if they’ve just moved into a new home together or have begged, stolen and borrowed things for the past few months or years.

According to a study by UK TV, the average wedding gift costs £53. So if you’re inviting a couple of hundred guests, it’s clear that the cost of your new possessions can quickly mount up into the hundreds or even thousands.

It may not be exciting, but for this reason it’s worth totting up exactly how much everything’s worth and contacting your home contents insurance provider to make sure you’ve got enough cover. Do it as soon as you get back from your honeymoon. Fail to get adequate cover and you may well regret it further down the line. Just imagine for a second that your home is hit by a big problem, such as a fire or flood. If your insurance covers you for £20,000, but after the wedding you’ve got £25,000 or £30,000-worth of stuff, you could end up being up to £10,000 short. Would you replace this stuff yourself? Or accept that it’s lost? You’d have to choose one, as the insurance company would only ever pay out to the maximum of the policy. Which would hardly be a wonderful start to married life.