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Some time in August 2014, the Ghana Insurers Association (GIA), in collaboration with Claims International Ghana, organised a stakeholders� seminar at which various proposals were made by both practitioners and other stakeholders. One of the interesting propositions was an actuarial consideration for marriage insurance. However, in a rather interesting response, one of the guest speakers, an actuary by profession, simply intimated ��this will be quite expensive.� Another practitioner said, �people would be ready to pay the premiums because we cannot predict the goings-on in the course of marriages.� These statements only emphasise the potential challenges in designing and underwriting such a policy. How nice! No couple goes into marriage with the expectation of a future divorce. Records, however, are that approximately 2.3 million weddings take place in the United States alone each year, and about 50 per cent of the marriages end up in divorce, with a colossal 40 per cent of that, largely involving couples with kids, eventually going down the poverty line (divorcemagazine.com). From the foregoing, it is only a fantasy to imagine that marriages would come with a guaranteed �happy life�! Notwithstanding the fact that insurers cannot necessarily guarantee a perpetual marital bliss, they can, however, provide a system for creating financial security for a couple to invest in themselves, rather than risking their long-term collective financial goals, which may go burst with the ultimate effect being �kpeei� � marital disaster! Lately, insurance companies, motivated by a sense of social equity and in keeping with the intestate succession law of Ghana, could allow for spouses to share in the proceeds from an insurance claim involving their partners and these policies do exist without necessarily being christened �Marriage Insurance�. Brief history of marriage insurance The idea of marriage or divorce insurance is not new. Indeed, it dates back to the very beginnings of insurance in Elizabethan England. As early as 1664, insurance policies were written on marriages, births and even christenings. Unfortunately, the policies were largely written as a form of wager; resulting in the practice suffering a ban since 1712. The reality of marriage Marriage is said to be the cornerstone of modern civilisation, and often associated with optimism into the future. The marriage ceremony itself is often characterised by great ecstasy and glamour; as dreams are in the making. Sadly, this cornerstone has eroded over time as nearly half of all marriages break down not too long after. This perhaps explains the calls for a marriage insurance policy, which will provide financial incentive for the affected party in a divorce. In marriages, however, both husband and wife bring into the marriage �assets� and �liabilities,� which consequently add to the complexity in the relationship. Moreover, there are no investment mechanisms for individual couples who work tirelessly to maintain a lasting marriage with financial incentive for making great sacrifices and ensuring continuous compromises towards marital harmony. The idea that the combined efforts of husband and wife result in increased wealth is validly widely accepted. Indeed, the US National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, which tracks individuals in their 20s, 30s and early 40s, posits that over time married respondents experience per person net worth increases of 93 per cent; nearly double over single respondents. Additionally, their wealth increases by an annual average of 16 per cent in the lifetime of their marriages. Building a divorce-proof marriage Divorce comes in various ways � mutual separations and/or death. Marriage insurance will therefore provide a shield for the marriage in order that, even in divorce, minimal pain will be visited on the affected party. The imperative here is to focus on ensuring loss minimisation to your partner or children. In this regard, an individual or a couple may sign on to an insurance policy, be they child education and/or personal investment-linked policies, so that benefit provisions may be made for the children and/or spouses, in the unfortunate event of divorce. The proceeds from such insurance policies may not be a direct compensation for the divorce, but certainly, it will help minimise the losses occasioned by the divorce. Thus, what insurers cannot guarantee is compensation for �broken-heart� or emotional loss, as the case may be. We must get married anyway because it is wrong for a man to be perpetually happy but insurance indirectly gives you some joy in this regard. If you have a good marriage with insurance policies, to God/Allah be the glory; if you have one that has not been too good, you don�t lose anything; you become a philosopher with insurance proceeds firmly stuck under your armpits! Until next week, �This is insurance from the eyes of my mind.�