Company Offers Product to Insure Your Marriage

When we think of things we insure, cars, homes and our lives typically come to mind. A North Carolina company, however, has introduced a product that will insure something a little different — your divorce. Safeguard Guaranty Corporation (SGC) recently started selling what it is calling the world’s first divorce insurance product — WedLock.How it WorksWedlock is a casualty insurance product that provides the beneficiary with financial assistance in the form of a lump sum payment. According to its website, the product offers units of protection for $15.99 per month per unit, with each unit providing $1,250 of coverage. The company also adds $250 to the value of each unit every year you have the policy.The company guards against “adverse selection,” or the purchase of this insurance by those already involved in the divorce process, by imposing a 48-month waiting period for any policy to mature, which can be reduced by purchasing an additional rider.Safeguard points out that divorce is one of the most statistically probable events in one’s life, with nearly half of all marriages ending in divorce. By comparison, the odds of your house burning down are 1 in 300; of flood damage in the house, 1 in 80; and the odds of being involved in a serious car accident at some point in your life stand at 1 in 4.While the policy appears to have a high cost associated with it, SGC argues that the average person will lose 77 percent of their net worth in a divorce, resulting in half of the families that go through the divorce process winding up below the poverty line. To help determine whether the product is right for each consumer, the company provides a divorce probability and divorce cost calculator to give potential customers an idea of the likelihood of divorce and associated expenses.Worth the Cost?An article in The New York Times examining the product, however, asks whether prospective divorce litigants would be better off simply putting the money used to purchase the product into a savings account, where it would generate interest and avoid being subject to any maturation period. A policy could also wind up costing more than its value if the divorce is amicable and ultimately costs far less than the price of the policy.The Times report also points out that the coverage is not covered under any state guaranty fund, meaning the policy would not be honored if the company went bankrupt.Working With an AttorneyDivorce can be a complex process, but, absent an insurance policy, there are steps you can take prior to or even after the marriage which will help you protect yourself. A prenuptial agreement or post-nuptial agreement, for example, can help couples resolve in advance the disposition of their property and other financial matters in the event that the marriage ends. Whether you are contemplating divorce or entering into a marriage, it may be important to you to protect specific assets. Anyone in such a position should discuss such concerns with an experienced, board certified specialist in marital and family law who practices in your area.