China woman buys US$28 ‘love insurance’, claims US$1,400 when she gets married a decade later

A Chinese woman who bought a “love insurance” policy for 199 yuan (US$28) in 2016 claimed a 10,000-yuan (US$1,400) payout ten years later.\nThe payout came after she and her partner officially registered their marriage in 2025, following a decade long relationship.\nThe woman surnamed Wu from Xian, Shaanxi province in central China, met her husband, surnamed Wang, in secondary school.\n\nThe pair began dating and officially entered a relationship in 2015 after enrolling at the same university. They were both born after 1995.\nIn 2016, Wu bought a discounted “love insurance” policy for 199 yuan as a gift for her boyfriend.\nWang recalled that he was initially very sceptical, saying: “She said she bought love insurance; my first reaction was that she had been scammed.”\nThe policy, whose standard price was 299 yuan (US$42), was issued by China Life Property and Casualty Insurance Company Limited.\n\nIt was structured as a high-stakes bet on the couple’s commitment: if the policyholder married their designated partner on any date within ten years after the third anniversary of the policy’s effective date, they would be eligible to receive either 10,000 roses or a 0.5-carat heart-shaped diamond ring.\nOn January 5, a customer service representative told Jimu News that the “love insurance” product had been discontinued in 2017, but existing policies could still be redeemed.\nPolicyholders could choose either 10,000 yuan in cash or 10,000 roses.\n\nIn October 2025, Wu and Wang officially registered their marriage after their decade-long relationship.\nThey took the cash payout.\nWu said: “The wedding is already over. I would not know how to preserve 10,000 roses.”\nWang said he had already submitted a request to the company and was waiting to claim the amount.\n“The customer service department said they would send us an email within one to two business days so we can submit the required documents.”\n“The wedding and honeymoon are already done. We will decide what to do when the money arrives,” Wang added.\n\nIn 2017, the former China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission mandated that insurance companies stop creating “gimmicky” products lacking genuine legal or insurable interest, leading to the phase-out of so-called marriage insurance and love insurance.\nThe couple’s 10-year payout sparked a lively online discussion.\nOne person said: “My husband and I met in college, dated for five years and have been married for nine. Why did we not know about this kind of insurance back then?”\nAnother said: “Looks like the actuaries believed that relationships lasting more than three years rarely end in marriage.”\nWhile a third person added: “Not only did they want to sell me insurance, they also wanted to ‘trick’ me into falling in love and getting married.”\n