One of the questions we get asked regularly at the Celebrant Institute is:
“Does your membership include professional indemnity and public liability insurance?”
It’s a fair question—especially when other celebrant membership groups or associations include insurance as part of their offer.
The short answer is: no, we don’t include insurance. And here’s the longer, more thoughtful explanation why.
1. You’re not a one-size-fits-all celebrant
You’re an independent professional running your own business, with your own needs, risks, and goals. Some celebrants do ten weddings a year in backyards and beaches. Others do 100+ across multiple states with staff and gear. Some do funerals, naming days, and corporate events.
Because of that variety, a one-size-fits-all insurance policy doesn’t serve all of our members equally. We’d either be underinsuring some of you or forcing others to pay for coverage you don’t need. And that doesn’t sit right with us.
We believe it’s more appropriate—and more responsible—for each celebrant to get the specific cover that suits their work.
2. Including insurance would more than double your membership fee
We’ve done the research. We’ve asked the brokers. We’ve crunched the numbers. And if we wanted to include even a basic level of insurance for all members, we’d have to at least double the cost of membership.
That’s not the kind of decision we’d want to bake into the fee and sneak past you.
Instead, we keep the Celebrant Institute membership affordable and focused on the things we know provide real value:
- Business and ceremony resources
- Professional development
- Legal and compliance guidance
- Coaching and support
- Tools and templates that save you time and money
And we trust you to make the right choice when it comes to your own insurance.
3. We’re not a volunteer-run association—we’re a business
This is a big one. A lot of people assume we’re a not-for-profit association like some other celebrant groups. But we’re not.
The Celebrant Institute is a private company, owned 50/50 by Sarah and I. We’re two working professionals—Sarah and Josh—who draw a wage from the work we do. We run the Institute with care, energy, and professionalism because it’s our job, not a side project we volunteer on.
Your membership fee funds Sarah and I to:
- be on-call to answer your questions seven days a week, 52 weeks a year.
- provide the free monthly email to you and all your celebrant colleagues one the first day of each month.
- liaise with the Attorney-General’s office on celebrancy and marriage law issues on your behalf.
- write all the helpful articles you love on this website.
- advocate for marriage law reform in the best interests of our members and a modern Australian society
- create the Celebrant Talk Show podcast
Because we’re focused on doing real and meaningful work as a for-profit company that means we don’t get access to the kind of community organisation insurance policies that not-for-profits can sometimes offer. And we don’t have free labour from volunteers to offset costs. If you see work from the Celebrant Institute know that everyone is paid fairly.
We believe in being upfront about that. Transparency matters.
So what should you do about insurance?
If you’re a working celebrant, you 100% should have public liability and professional indemnity insurance. It’s smart, it’s safe, and it’s often required by venues.
There are a number of brokers and providers who specialise in celebrants and small businesses. Sarah and I tend to recommend Duck for Cover but we also recommend doing your own research and perhaps talking to a broker.
If you’ve got any questions about this—or you’re still unsure what kind of coverage you might need—just reach out. We’ll always point you in the right direction.
