Extreme weather dumping on more wedding plans

When your something blue becomes a bright map on the Weather Channel, with a little swirl indicating a tropical storm or hurricane also heading for your destination wedding, it might be too late to make sure you have wedding insurance.

Twenty-three percent of Travelers Cos. Inc. wedding insurance claims in 2017 were due to severe weather that forced the event to be canceled or postponed, the highest percentage of weather-related claims Travelers has seen since it began selling wedding insurance in 2007, the Hartford, Connecticut, insurer announced Tuesday.

With the average wedding costs in excess of $20,000, the insurer is taking time now to remind lovebirds that wedding season coincides with hurricane season.

“Many couples schedule their wedding in the summer because they think it will be ideal weather, but the risk of extreme storms at this time of year is a real one,” Todd Shasha, managing director of personal insurance, product management at Travelers, said in a press statement. “Last year was an important reminder that hurricanes and other severe weather can ruin even the most carefully planned weddings.”