diff --git a/MaterialLib/MPL/Property.cpp b/MaterialLib/MPL/Property.cpp
index c2d8fcf4291bcbe87af09c6074da9f3b6a3f69c7..b7249e897816703363d2449bcdf516d06f7286ed 100644
--- a/MaterialLib/MPL/Property.cpp
+++ b/MaterialLib/MPL/Property.cpp
@@ -140,8 +140,15 @@ PropertyDataType Property::d2Value(VariableArray const& /*variable_array*/,
 std::string Property::description() const
 {
     return "property '" + name_ + "' defined for " +
-           std::visit([](auto&& scale) -> std::string
-                      { return scale->description(); },
-                      scale_);
+           std::visit(
+               [](auto&& scale) -> std::string
+               {
+                   if (scale == nullptr)
+                   {
+                       return "unknown scale";
+                   }
+                   return scale->description();
+               },
+               scale_);
 }
 }  // namespace MaterialPropertyLib