You can’t work because of illness. Or your wedding has to be cancelled. Or you’ve been made redundant and can’t pay the mortgage due. Or your tenant is unable to keep paying the rent. These and hundreds of other situations are often covered by insurance contracts. But as coronavirus sweeps the world, will the insurers pay out?
As it stands, insurers have refused to pay out due to the coronavirus outbreak as engaged couples stand to lose thousands of pounds on cancelled weddings.
Weddings throughout the country have either been postponed or cancelled as a result of the outbreak of novel coronavirus and subsequent lockdown. The UK wedding industry is estimated at the value of around £10bn ($12.5bn) annually and many couples hope to recoup money expended on ceremonies through insurance.
However, several insurance companies offering wedding covers are refusing to pay claims. Dozens of brides-to-be and grooms have expressed their displeasure from the maltreatment by popular insurer, UK General, a Leeds-based company refusing to pay out on policies. Not only UK General, other insurance companies are also involved in defaulting on claims.
Laura Archibald, Lorraine Carrol
Laura Archibald, 27, from Rochdale is one of the insurees yet to receive claims on their matured policy . She purchased coverage from Debenhams, which acts as an introducer (a firm which introduces a person to a financial promotion) for UK General. Her big day was to be held on 21 March but the government said all restaurants and bars must close just a day before the wedding.
Debenhams said Archibald’s policy didn’t cover the cancellation because it was caused by government action (which is an exclusion in her policy), rather than an infectious disease outbreak. A specific clause in her policy states claims could not be made due to government actions.
A wedding planner based in Essex, Lorraine Carroll, narrated that she was aware of at least 20 couples who had been unable to claim on their Debenhams policies.
“Debenhams are the worst for sure,” she said.
Christopher McCraig, Christina from London
A gentleman from Scotland, Christopher McCraig, 28, said he spent 10 hours trying to reach an official of the company on the phone. Several times, he was cut off after waiting for more than an hour on hold.
When he did finally reach someone, McCraig’s claim was denied.
Several other Debenhams policy holders expressed anger and frustration over how the company was handling Coronavirus Disease claims.
One Christina, 30, from London said “they haven’t sent a single email to their policyholders.”
“You chose Debenhams because you trust it as a brand, it’s a brand that you grow up with. Now either we have to cancel and we know we’re not insured, and we have to rely on goodwill to rearrange, or we’ll lose about £13,000.”
A spokesperson for Debenhams said: “Our insurance provider is working on processing claims as quickly as possible but, as you might expect, the current situation means that there are inevitably delays to the process.
“We understand this is a difficult time and that engaged couples are keen to get clarity as soon as possible. We apologise to any customers affected.”
Kumaran, Jacob, from London
A couple from London, Kumaran, 33, and her partner Jacob, 35, were planning a Hindu wedding, with ceremonies beginning in late June. She paid £355 for specialist Asian wedding insurance that gave her cover up to £100,000.
“I specifically remember looking at the time if it covered COVID-19 and it did,” she said “With that in mind, I purchased it.”
Couples who wanted to get married are now being tied in knots by the wording in these insurance policies. For example, wedding policies offered by John Lewis, a UK-based insurer says explicitly it will pay out for cancellation caused by “the booked venue for the wedding or wedding reception being unable to hold your wedding due to an outbreak of infectious or contagious disease”.
A lot of couples will think, surely we will get a payout. But it’s not that simple – and disappointed couples are finding their claims are being rejected.
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Why? Because weddings have not been banned by the government. If the wedding venue itself does not cancel the event the John Lewis policy will not pay out.
It is vital to critically read through the terms and conditions of a policy before opting for a cover so as to avert pain and distress in the near future.