经济学人160:离婚保险,可能缓和痛苦

 　　Divorce insurance

　　离婚保险

　　I do (conditions apply)

　　我愿意申请条件

　　Ending a marriage is horrid¹. Insurance might ease the pain

　　离婚是可怕的，保险可能缓和痛苦

　　DIVORCE, like any other risk, can be priced and packaged. With half of all marriages doomed² to fail, even the moderately hardheaded may be interested in ways of mitigating³ the danger.

　　离婚，像其他任何冒险投资一样，可以标价与打包。由于所有的婚姻中，一半都注定失败，甚至温和的不感情用事者也可能对减少危险的方法感兴趣。

　　So hopes ARAG, a German-based insurance firm. From September it will offer a kind of divorce insurance that will pay out if English prenuptial agreements are subject to a legal challenge. Such policies are already common in some continental⁴ European countries such as Germany and Spain, and are offered by some American employers as a perk⁵. But they are so far unknown in Britain, chiefly because prenuptial agreements have had little legal force in English law (Scotland’s legal system is separate). Judges have traditionally given much greater weight to circumstances at the end of the marriage than to any agreements made at the start.

　　所以，像德国保险公司ARAG所希望的那样。从九月开始，它将提供一种离婚保险，它将为那些受法律挑战支配的英国婚前协定付费。像这样的策略在欧洲大陆国家，例如德国和西班牙，已是正常，同样一些美国雇主也会将此作为额外津贴发给员工。然而，到目前为止，这些策略在英国还是不被人知的，主要是因为这些婚前协议在英国法律（苏格兰法律除外）面前是几乎没有法律效力的。传统上，比起婚前的任何协议，法官们对婚姻结束时的事项给予了更多的重视。

　　That changed in October last year, when a Supreme⁶ Court ruling upheld a German heiress’s prenup against a challenge from her ex-husband, who claimed he hadn’t realised that it was unfairly one-sided when he signed it. The Law Commission, which helps Parliament tidy up legislation, is currently looking into a statutory framework for prenuptial agreements.

　　去年十月这种情况改变了，当最高法院规定支持德国的一名女继承人的婚前协议而反对她前夫的质疑。她前夫声称他在签署婚前协议时他没有意识到这是不公正的片面的。帮助国会修整法规的法律委员会，当前正在为婚前协议寻找法律框架。

　　The new insurance is hedged with conditions. It starts paying out if the prenup is challenged in court—so the company’s profit will come from making that unlikely. Only solicitors⁷ vetted⁸ by the insurers can draft the deals; the prenups must be updated regularly and when circumstances alter (through childbirth, inheritance or changes in earning power, for example). So far two legal firms have signed up: the upmarket Mishcon de Reya, and Prolegal, a commercially minded new entrant。

　　新的保险受到各种条件的束缚。如果婚前协议在法庭中受到质疑，公司则开始为顾客赔偿，因此公司只有使这种情况不要发生才能盈利。只有通过审查的初级律师才能起草协议；当客观环境发生变化的时候（比如孩子出生，继承或赚钱能力的改变），婚前协议必须定期地升级。到目前为止，只有两家法律公司签署了合同：高级的Mishcon de Reya和一个商业上有思想的新参与者Prolegal。

　　The cover will range from ?50,000 to ?500,000, says ARAG, with annual premiums⁹ from ?500, depending on the scope of the policy and the priciness of the lawyers. The bare-bones version is simply an indemnity¹⁰ for the cost of a challenge to the prenup; elaborate policies will include other expenses such as mediation¹¹ and, if that fails, the cost of a contested divorce.

　　ARAG说费用将会从5万欧元到50万欧元，年度保险费从500欧元起。这取决于保险单的范围和律师的费用。大体的描述就是对婚前协议受质疑的花费而提供的一个简单赔偿；详细的策略将包含其他费用，比如调停，以及如果调停失败后纷争离婚的花费。

　　Unlike those for car insurance, the premiums are flat rates: the libidinous¹² will pay the same as the uxorious¹³. But an American divorce-insurance company, SafeGuard, is planning a more ambitious product that will pay a big bonus to those who stay married for 25 years. Sounds like a nice wedding present.

　　与那些车险不同的是，保险费是统一费用：好色者与溺爱妻子者将会付出同样的代价。但是，名叫安全保卫的一家美国离婚保险公司，正计划一项更有野心的产品，会为那些结婚25年的人支付一大笔红利。听起来像一件不错的结婚礼物。

1 horrid   

adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的

参考例句：

• I'm not going to the horrid dinner party.我不打算去参加这次讨厌的宴会。
• The medicine is horrid and she couldn't get it down.这种药很难吃，她咽不下去。

2 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

3 mitigating   

v.减轻，缓和( mitigate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Are there any mitigating circumstances in this case ? 本案中是否有任何情况可以减轻被告的罪行？ 来自辞典例句
• A sentencing judge is required to consider any mitigating circumstances befor imposing the death penalty. 在处死刑之前，要求量刑法官必须考虑是否有任何减轻罪行之情节。 来自口语例句

4 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

5 perk   

n.额外津贴；赏钱；小费；

参考例句：

• His perks include a car provided by the firm.他的额外津贴包括公司提供的一辆汽车。
• And the money is,of course,a perk.当然钱是额外津贴。

6 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

7 solicitors   

初级律师( solicitor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Most solicitors in England and Wales are in private practice . 英格兰和威尔士的大多数律师都是私人执业者。
• The family has instructed solicitors to sue Thomson for compensation. 那家人已经指示律师起诉汤姆森，要求赔偿。

8 vetted   

v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的过去式和过去分词 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• The recruits were thoroughly vetted before they were allowed into the secret service. 情报机关招募的新成员要经过严格的审查。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All staff are vetted for links with extremist groups before being employed. 所有职员录用前均须审查是否与极端分子团体有关。 来自辞典例句

9 premiums   

n.费用( premium的名词复数 )；保险费；额外费用；（商品定价、贷款利息等以外的）加价

参考例句：

• He paid premiums on his life insurance last year. 他去年付了人寿保险费。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Moves are afoot to increase car insurance premiums. 现正在酝酿提高汽车的保险费。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 indemnity   

n.赔偿，赔款，补偿金

参考例句：

• They paid an indemnity to the victim after the accident.他们在事故后向受害者付了赔偿金。
• Under this treaty,they were to pay an indemnity for five million dollars.根据这项条约，他们应赔款500万美元。

11 mediation   

n.调解

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
• The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。

12 libidinous   

adj.淫荡的

参考例句：

• Powell let his libidinous imagination run away with him.鲍威尔淫心顿起，浮想联翩。
• Now it was believed that men were much more naturally libidinous and liable to seduce women.现在人们相信，男人天生要好色得多，要对勾引女人承担责任。

13 uxorious   

adj.宠爱妻子的

参考例句：

• There are those who regard him as the uxorious spouse of a beautiful wife.有些人认为他是一个宠爱美貌妻子的丈夫。
• His friends laughed at him because he was so uxorious and submissive to his wife's desires.他的朋友们嘲笑他，因为他溺爱妻子到了百依百顺的程度。