Liu Minxia

    mllmx@msn.com

    THE recent trend of insurance companies hedging against lovebirds by offering so-called “love insurance” is more like an advertising stunt, since few people actually purchased such products, a Shenzhen-based third-party online insurance seller said in its latest research report for Valentine’s Day.

    Love insurance, which offers cash or diamonds or 1 million roses to a dating couple if they get married within between three to 10 years or more after the insurance policy is activated to collect, often attracts attention around Valentine’s Day and China’s Singles Day on Nov. 11.

    Huize.com, a Shenzhen online insurance seller, said the insurance firms were just using it as an advertisement, as they know through statistics that 98.39 percent of dating couples split.

    Among married couples, wives spend more on insurance policies for husbands than vice versa, Huize found. Each ticket sold to wives for their husbands averaged 986 yuan (US$143), compared to 773 yuan spent by husbands for their wives. Among their products, overseas travel insurance was the top seller.