How Do Settlements Work?
A life settlement is defined as the sale of an existing life insurance policy for more than its cash surrender value, but less than its net death benefit. Once the sale is complete, ownership of the policy is transferred to a third party intermediary (Abacus) who is responsible for all future premium payments and will collect the death benefit when the policy matures.
A viatical settlement is essentially the same as a life settlement, except the insured is typically suffering from a chronic or terminal illness. Viatical settlements are often tax-free, making them an excellent option for those facing major medical bills or traveling out of the country to pursue medical care.
A life settlement is not a loan. It is a one time transfer of money from an institutional investment fund to the insured in exchange for policy ownership. Once the cash is transferred, it belongs entirely to the policyholder. You will never be expected to pay back any portion of your policy.
If you qualify, a life or viatical settlement can be a source of much-needed funds for everything ranging from financing post-retirement living expenses to paying for medical bills when suffering from a serious illness.
For more information on life settlements, please visit our comprehensive Learning Center or Contact Us and one of our life settlement professionals will be more than happy to assist you over the phone or via e-mail.
5 Steps to Your Settlement

Undergo a 15 minute, over-the-phone medical interview with a professional underwriter.

If you are happy with your rough estimate, fill out our simple application.

Abacus will pull all your insurance information and further underwrite your case.

We will make you an official offer on your policy based on underwriting.

SERVICES
FASTER OFFERS
We supply offers in a fraction of the industry standard timeframe and under special circumstances, such as an impending lapse, we can move even faster. Coupled with our exclusive 24-hour pricing, Abacus can help you finish your settlement quickly without sacrificing any value in your final offer.
INDUSTRY-LEADING PURCHASE RANGE
At Abacus, we purchase life insurance policies with face values ranging from $50,000 to $50,000,000. Since we effectively provide the largest purchase range in the life settlement industry, other life settlement companies commonly come to us to facilitate larger settlements and clients with policies smaller than $100,000 typically cite us as their only option.
EXCLUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS
Abacus has exclusive relationships with life insurance groups, long-term care companies, financial institutions, and medical clinics all over the United States and overseas. These relationships allow us to provide unique life settlement solutions like our income for life program, and settlement advances for cancer care. We understand that getting a settlement is often the first step down a longer path, and are here to help our clients navigate it.
TYPES OF POLICIES PURCHASED
We purchase every type of life insurance, even Term policies. Finding a life settlement company that is willing to work with you regardless of policy type can be difficult. Since we are a direct buyer with excellent industry relationships, we can accommodate nearly any policy, so long as the insured is qualified.
UNSURPASSED CUSTOMER SERVICE
The life settlement industry is unique in that it is comprised mainly of individuals who are going through deeply troubling times. At Abacus, we believe in supporting and connecting with our clients during these times and we back up this belief with things like our Lapsesaver Program and Abacus Express.
INSTITUTIONAL FUNDING
We work with several institutional funders to ensure that the offers we make on cases reflect real value. Rather than making offers from a single money source, we maximize the potential of your life insurance. This is reflected in Abacus’s aggressive and competitive pricing for every single case.

Cancer Care
We are also proud to be partnered with groups like Cancer Tutor and several well-regarded clinics in the cancer community. Abacus assists those suffering from severe illnesses, such as cancer, in finding funding in their living life insurance benefits. We believe that nobody should have to go bankrupt in order to fight cancer, and we have made it our mission to spread the viatical settlement option for funding medical care to as many people as possible.
While many companies in the life settlement industry only work with specific clients, Abacus is dedicated to helping anyone that is interested in learning more about life settlements. Whether you are suffering from a severe illness, consolidating an estate plan, or just want to secure extra money for your retirement, Abacus can help. Click below to learn more about how we have tailored our approach to your specific circumstances.
Meet Eddie
At age 83 Eddie decided his life insurance policy was no longer needed for his estate plan and considered surrendering it entirely. He began exploring the possibility of a life settlement after hearing about Abacus from a friend. Because of his advanced age and medical history, Abacus was able to offer him almost double the cash surrender value of his $2,485,065 policy with a final settlement value of $1,200,000. This money went directly into Eddie’s accounts and he is now able to use these funds to finance all of his retirement needs.
