Newlyweds need to be newly covered

Newlyweds could add several thousand pounds to the value of the contents of their home once married, with guests at their wedding spending an average of £79 on each gift, according to research from Direct Line. As a result, a wedding with just 50 guests could mean £3,950 worth of gifts, while 150 guests could give a massive £11,850 in presents.

Some newlyweds will be even luckier with their gifts, with 3% of guests saying they will spend a recession-busting £500 or more on a single wedding gift. All of these gifts, plus the typical £4,000 of items the newlyweds will have bought in preparation for the wedding, mean that there will be a much higher value to the total contents of the home once the newlyweds cross the threshold.

Andrew Lowe, Head of Home Insurance at Direct Line, says: "The value of home contents can quickly rise around the time of a wedding, so Direct Line gives its customers an extra boost to their cover before and after a wedding to give them time to evaluate the new value of their contents. We recognise that no one wants to worry about insurance when they're thinking about a wedding, whether they're attending the celebration or planning the most important day of their life.

"The costs of the wedding dress, flowers, jewellery and outfits for the wedding party can easily run to many thousands of pounds, so it will be a shrewd newlywed who checks their insurance policy to make sure that all of their purchases and gifts are protected in the event of loss, damage, or theft.

"People should make sure they are adequately covered by their home contents insurance policy, and should contact their insurer if they have any questions about their level of cover."

Direct Line raises its contents cover automatically for the four weeks immediately surrounding the wedding of the policy holder or their family member. This is by £5k or 10% of the contents sum insured (whichever is greater) with a Home Insurance policy, and by 20% of the contents sum insured with a Home Insurance Plus policy.

For further details on home insurance from Direct Line, visit directline.com