Quicken Loans and Warren Buffett are offering up to 15 million people a small chance to win a very big prize — a billion dollars for filling out a perfect NCAA men's basketball tournament bracket. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is providing coverage to Quicken Loans in the event that there is a winner. The odds are estimated at one in nine quintillion chance of winning, but according to Buffet, that is better than just a coin-flip on each game.
The billion dollars would be paid in 40 annual installments of $25 million each. The winner (or winners) may also choose to get a lump sum payment of $500 million (or share in that amount). The first 15 million qualified entrants to complete the registration process will be eligible to win the billion dollars. In addition to the potential grand prize, Quicken said it will award $100,000 for each of the 20 most accurate “imperfect” brackets in the contest to use toward buying, refinancing or remodeling a home.
Prize indemnity insurance is commonly used for promotions in which the participants are offered the chance to win large prizes. Some of the more common forms of prize indemnity insurance include hole-in-one insurance, which reimburses golf tournament organizers for the cost of awarding a hole-in-one prize in the event a tournament participant successfully hits a hole-in-one during the tournament. Additionally, contest coverage is typically purchased for contests such as half-court shots at basketball games, or field goal kicks at football games, and even retail-based promotions.
To sign up for the Quicken Loans Billion Dollar Bracket Challenge visit bit.ly/1guibqg. The window to enter closes at 1 a.m. EDT on Thursday, March 20.