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Timeline of Life Settlements

Life insurance is often a senior’s largest asset and one they can use to alleviate retirement challenges – but they don’t treat it that way.

They rarely realize it belongs to them, not the insurance company, and can be sold for more than its cash surrender value, but less than its death benefit, if they believe there is a better for the equity they have built.

A life insurance policy is personal property and selling it for a fair market value is a legitimate, safe and viable choice to create more options for the future.  

A life settlement is not a loan, it is a one-time cash transaction that results in a full transfer of ownership in exchange for a lump-sum payment. The money belongs entirely to the policy seller and can be spent at his or her discretion.

Life Settlements can also be in the form of a paid-up death benefit. 

Here is the Historic Timeline of Life settlements.

1

1911

Grigsby v. Russell, 22 U.S. 149, established life insurance policies as private property, opening up the possibility for policies to be bought, sold, and traded, just like any other high-value asset, and laying the early groundwork for life settlement options.
2

1980s

Starting in the late 1980s, life insurance options were largely seen in the form of viatical options, which involve the sale of a policy by a person facing terminal illness. At that time and into the early 90's most individuals who sold their policies were facing cancer or the aids epidemic. But by the mid 90's the range for life insurance options had broadened and were being considered by people in nearly every type of illness.
3

2001

Increasing investor interest in life insurance options as an alternative investment continued to grow. By 2001, what was a tiny industry had started to attract the interest of major financial institutions and banks.
4

2004

Abacus is formed. A group of Financial and insurance professionals who met in the mid-'90s in New York's financial district came together to create what is now Abacus Life as a way to ensure more people had access to life insurance options.
5

2004

Abacus is formed. A group of Financial and insurance professionals who met in the mid-'90s in New York's financial district came together to create what is now Abacus Life as a way to ensure more people had access to life insurance options.
6

2009

The industry was not immune to the financial crash of 2008. Major banks and financial institutions pulled back from any non-core investing, which causes demand for and awareness of the options to lessen for a time.
7

2010

Finding Confidence bounded back around 2010, which opened the door for many life insurance buyers to expand operations.
8

2015

U.S. states began enacting safeguards, including disclosure requirements and improved regulations to ensure the safety and legitimacy of life insurance options.
9

2018

Abacus Experienced major growth, securing the largest market share in the industry, based on capital deployed with a 77% increase in policies purchased.
Zaid Anwar

Author Zaid Anwar

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