Life Settlements

200 billion dollars of life insurance will either lapse or be surrendered back to the insurance company each year - that could have been a life settlement. - Conning & Co.

What is a Life Settlement?

A life settlement is the sale of an existing insurance policy to a third party for a cash payment and/or a portion of the death benefit. Payment is more than the surrender value, but less than the actual death benefit. After the sale, the purchaser becomes the policy’s owner and at least partial beneficiary, assuming responsibility for 100% of its premium payments.

Why Would Someone Consider a Life Settlement?

  • The policy is simply no longer needed or wanted
  • Cash is needed for retirement
  • Premiums are no longer affordable
  • Funds are needed for long-term care
  • Financial assistance is needed to pay for medical bills
  • A family business is sold, or the owner retires, and key person’s insurance is no longer needed

How Does a Life Settlement Work?

  • We can run a life settlement valuation on your policy quickly and easily.
  • Once we provide you with estimated life settlement pricing, an intake form must be completed.
  • We will order life insurance illustrations and, if needed, medical records for underwriting, which will help us maximize the offer.
  • Once we have a complete file, we will send your case out to our institutional life settlement funding sources for offers.
  • Once we have the best offer for your particular life settlement, we will submit to you the formal offer for acceptance.
  • There is no cost or obligation to accept an offer at any time.

Types of Life Settlements:

 

Traditional Life Settlement

In a traditional life settlement, a licensed life settlement provider (buyer) pays the policy owner (seller) a cash settlement amount above the surrender value. The premiums will be paid by the buyer for the remainder of the insured’s life. The seller receives an agreed upon cash sum when the settlement is complete.

Retained Death Benefit

With this option, the seller keeps a portion of the policy and is named as an irrevocable beneficiary on the policy and will receive a guaranteed percentage of the death benefit when the policy pays out. The amount is usually much more than traditional life settlements. The original owner will no longer be required to pay the premiums but will receive a portion of the death benefit. RDB is not available in all states.

Hybrid Life Settlement

A hybrid settlement is a combination of both a traditional and retained death benefit settlement. It provides much needed cash without giving up the entirety of a policy. Clients often take advantage of this option to supplement their retirement while still protecting their family financially.