Overview:

Introduction

The brief is an invaluable guide to the UK wedding insurance market, providing insight into competitor strategies as well as overall market growth and trends. It investigates this niche market uncovering how insurers and providers sell these products, the size of these markets and the competitive landscape.

Scope

*Insight into the different methods of distributing wedding insurance products and the changes in the landscape.
*Analysis of the current competition and challenges facing providers in selling wedding insurance products in future.
*The latest market developments in the wedding insurance marketplace.
*A discussion of the main factors affecting the wedding insurance market in the future.

Highlights

The UK wedding insurance market is profitable for insurers. The relatively low claims frequency makes this an attractive industry for all those involved.

A clear consensus among most industry players is that there is stronger demand for wedding insurance as a result of the recession. Providers therefore need to capitalize on this by raising awareness and educating the customer as to the benefits of taking out such a policy.

Besides standard multi-tier wedding insurance cover, most insurers offer greater coverage through add-ons to the policy such as extended legal expenses cover, ceremonial sword cover, honeymoon cover, marquee cover and personal liability.

Reasons to Purchase

*Understand the size of this market in terms of premium income and policy numbers.
*Gain insight into the distribution profile of this sector.
*Help in planning your entry into the UK wedding insurance market.

DATAMONITOR VIEW

CATALYST

SUMMARY

MARKET CONTEXT

Introduction

Wedding insurance protects a couple's investment

Wedding insurance protects a couple's investment

Credit cards can also be used to protect purchases for a wedding

Wedding insurance is a small but lucrative market

The market is worth approximately £4m

Wedding insurance is a lucrative business

The economic downturn has led to a slightly higher claims frequency

The market is becoming more competitive

Increasing penetration is the best way to expand the market

Interviewees claim that wedding insurance has benefited from the recession

The average cost of weddings is expected to stabilize

Penetration needs to increase

Wedding insurance is mainly distributed online

Online is the main distribution platform

Wedding insurance is also sold as an add-on policy to travel insurance

CONSUMER INSIGHTS

Introduction

Wedding insurance offers peace of mind

Weddings are a significant investment for young couples

The downturn has prompted more couples to protect their wedding

Raising product penetration remains a challenge for wedding insurance providers

Price comparison sites make shopping around easier

The economy will put the breaks on wedding costs

People are getting married later

The economic climate will dampen the average wedding cost

Ecclesiastical Insurance's 'wedding budget planner' is a clever marketing tool

Editorial marketing is the most common marketing strategy

Ecclesiastical Insurance provides a 'wedding budget planner'

COMPETITIVE DYNAMICS

Introduction

There are a just a handful of underwriters

Only six underwriters are predominant in the market

Wedding insurance costs between £20 and £355

Providers target consumers with multi-tiered policies

Major wedding insurance providers offer multi-tier policies

Many add-on policies are sold alongside standard wedding insurance

Ecclesiastical Insurance's 'mix and match' option offers greater flexibility

FUTURE DECODED

Introduction

Social trends are likely to limit wedding insurance market growth

The number of marriages is expected to decline moderately out to 2014

The average cost of a wedding is expected to stabilize

The wedding insurance market will continue to grow

Rising penetration rates of wedding insurance will lead to market growth

APPENDIX

Definitions

Premium income measures

Earned premiums

Gross Premium

Net Premium

Written premiums

Other definitions

Channel

Direct insurer/writer

Brokers

Bancassurers

Brandassurers

Platform

Further reading

Ask the analyst

Datamonitor consulting

Disclaimer

List of Tables

Table 1: Corporate partnerships and prices,2010

Table 2: Wedding insurance product range,by provider,2010 (£)

Table 3: Add-ons offered by provider

Table 4: The UK wedding insurance market forecast under three scenarios 2010f-14f

List of Figures

Figure 1: The number of marriages is falling

Figure 2: Wedding insurance is advertised on the John Lewis gift list website

Figure 3: Wedding insurance looks after almost every aspect of a wedding

Figure 4: Wedding Insurance Comparison compares six brands

Figure 5: Most people now get married between the ages of 25 and 34

Figure 6: Ecclesiastical Insurance's 'wedding budget planner'

Figure 7: All the providers offer a multi-tier range

Figure 8: Ecclesiastical Insurance's 'mix and match' option offers greater flexibility

Figure 9: Number of marriages per year in UK,1979-2013f

Figure 10: The UK wedding insurance market could reach £6m in GWP in 2014