Is there such a thing as divorce insurance? Most of us are pretty familiar with insuring the capital gains in our lives. Many of us even go the extra mile and take out life insurance policies in the hopes that our loved ones will be cared for should be we die too soon. And now, there are a few companies globally offering divorce insurance to couples.
And why not? According to statistics from First Marriage Dissolution, Divorce, and Remarriage: United States by Matthew D. Bramlett, Ph.D., and William D. Mosher, Ph.D., from the Division of Vital Statistics, divorce is probable! While they dispute that divorce rates are creeping over the 50% mark, they do compile a wealth of information that can reveal the probability of divorce based on age of marriage, annual income, family history and other key factors.’
Insurance companies have been taking note, and use calculators just like this one so couples can ascertain their risk factors and develop an insurance policy that will reduce the chance of a couple suffering financial doom for getting a divorce.
Should you consider Divorce Insurance
With divorce comes a host of unexpected circumstances that can quickly ruin the financial worthiness of each individual in the marriage Couples with perfect credit during marriage, and the ability to finance extravagant items like a yacht, can suddenly find themselves barely able to finance a Kia Rio once their marital status changes. And divorce is expensive. A simple divorce can cost more than a thousand dollars, but add children and some financial assets that need dividing and the cost of divorce can skyrocket into tens of thousands of dollars
The divorce insurance is designed to help offset the cost of the legal proceedings, and provide a cushion so that each half of the couple divorcing can set up a new place of residence, which can costs from $5,000 to $35,000 depending upon where you live. Divorce coverage is also extremely flexible and can coincide with a prenuptial agreement so that division of assets after marriage does not get wrapped up in the court system.
This brings up another extremely valid point of marriage. If couples were to plan for divorce, covering all the bases and meet with a professional to help them understand just what the catastrophic consequences could be, it would open up an entirely rare line of communication between couples. Suddenly, you and your spouse who have thought of nothing but the love you have for another before, would be discussing some hot button issues with one another and getting a rare glimpse at exactly how the two of you really feel about important things in marriage. Such as money, and the children, and the house and division of property. Few couples talk about this stuff when they are on good terms, and the truth is making it a prerequisite for marriage might actually help people avoid divorce. How so, you ask? Well, when you find out how your husband or wife to be really feels about money, the car, the house, and custody you might realize that the two of you are on such opposite planes, that marriage isn’t a good idea.
Many couples feel awkward even talking about divorce when they are getting married. The truth is that each of us wonders and lingers on the thought that one day we might end up a statistic. Regardless of how well we jive with a partner, a lifetime can take its toll on everything, including love! As couples who have been married for a long time will admit, marriage isn’t all about the picket white fence. Marriage is hard on so many levels, and the longer it goes on, the harder it can get. Especially when couples begin raising a family or find themselves struggling and facing hardships. It is also interesting to wonder about whether planning for divorce by getting divorce insurance, might be able to enhance your probability of staying married. For one thing, you have some of the essential conversations beforehand. Secondly, it might eradicate some of the fears that couples carry into marriage, and eliminate the excessive codependency of couples.
On the other hand, divorce insurance might make getting a divorce easier. For one thing, couples won’t feel trapped in the marriage fearing financial disaster by ending the marriage. With the stakes not as high, couples could lightly decide to get a divorce because really, there isn’t much to lose except for the person themselves.
Companies offering this insurance seem to have the right idea. Consider that your chances of being involved in car accident over the next decade are 1 in 4. And people are REQUIRED by law to have car insurance. Your chances of getting divorced in the same time periods are steadily sitting on about 1 in 3 as of 2011. And few people are planning for this. Similarly, your chances of dying before your life insurance policy expires are 1 in 100, and around 65% of all Americans have some sort of life insurance policy in place. When evaluating numbers like these, in situations that can be potentially life changing, insuring your divorce almost makes sense!
Of course, so many of us are hopeless romantics. We would rather bank the success of our relationships on positive theories of love and whimsy rather than analyze them with the same scrutiny we would use in other areas of our life. And that is okay! Bringing up the idea of divorce insurance with your spouse, especially if you are already married, is also not one of those things you can just talk about over eggs and coffee. The discussion would definitely plant seeds that perhaps the relationship isn’t as happy as one might initially thing. Yet, considering how many people lives can be ruined ‘on paper’ by getting a divorce it may be something you want to consider.