‘Coronavirus ruined our £40,000 wedding but our insurer won’t pay’

What was supposed to be the best day of Will Brookes’s life has turned into a nightmare. Mr Brookes, 34, was due to get married in a month’s time, but he is having to cancel as his fiancée will be in self-isolation on the day of the wedding.

She is both a type one diabetic and pregnant – groups considered to be particularly vulnerable to coronavirus. The Government has said vulnerable people should self-isolate for at least 12 weeks.

Mr Brookes had bought wedding insurance for £235 from John Lewis to protect them should the worst happen. But, when it did, the couple were told they would d not get back one penny of the £40,000 0 they had spent on the wedding.

Thousands of other er couples preparing to tie the knot are wondering if they can, n, and should, cancel. The Government has s issued advice against t holding large gatherings ings of 50 or more people e and Princess Beatrice has s been forced to cancel her wedding reception at t Buckingham Palace.

However, even those ose who have bought insurance are finding, g, like Mr Brookes, that t they will be left out of pocket. This is because of loopholes s contained within the small print of policies.

In Mr Brookes’s case, the John Lewis policy covers for pandemics, but not if f a wedding is cancelled ed because of government ent advice or an official act.

Princess Beatrice and fiancé Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi have cancelled their reception

“It’s mad: when would the Government ever not issue advice or an act in the case of a pandemic? What is the point of having insurance if it doesn’t cover you for something that is completely out of your control?” said Mr Brookes. Nicola Smith and her partner, Ron, from Norwich, are also having trouble claiming. They bought cover from Wedding Plan for their £26,000 wedding due to take place today. The couple decided to follow advice and cancel but have been refused a refund. The insurer said the Government’s Governm announcement announceme was advice rather rathe than an outright ba ban. “We chose cho to buy the platinum cover because it was one of the best on the market in terms of protection,” Ms Smith said. She added that if they didn’t g get their money back they the would not be able to afford aff to rearrange the wedding. w Adam French of consumer c group Which? said other insurers were also not considering the ban on public gatherings as a valid claim. Some policies cover having h to cancel or rearrange re because of illness, ill death or an accident affecting aff either the couple getting get married or a close clo member of family. However, Ho a number of insurers in said they would not no consider those who are self-isolating, se but without symptoms, sy as being ill. Mr French said couples who won’t be refunded for cancelling completely should try to postpone the wedding instead. “Start by speaking to your suppliers and venue to see if it is possible to rearrange,” he said. If it is the venue or supplier that cancels, you should get a full refund.

Ms Smith is concerned about rebooking the wedding for a later date. The venue has offered to do so for an extra £4,000, but she is worried it could end up going bust. Insurance should cover when a venue or supplier fails but it will depend on individual policies.

For those that don’t have wedding insurance, it may be too late. Several providers including John Lewis, Debenhams and Events Insurance said they would not offer new policies.

Wedding Plan declined to comment. A John Lewis spokesman said the firm would contact Mr Brookes. She added: “We continue to monitor developments relating to public health via the Government. We urge couples to not make any decisions or cancel until they have spoken to us.”

Hundreds of other events are being cancelled. Tickets purchased directly from an event organiser should be refunded. If you bought your ticket via a secondary ticket seller, check their terms and conditions, as you may not be able to get a full refund.

Customers who paid via credit card should be able to claim the money back anyway via their provider.

Those that used a debit card may be able to claim through a process called chargeback.

£40k The amount of money Will Brookes and his fiancée will lose if their insurer doesn’t pay out