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History of Life Settlements
Life Settlement Blog

History of Life Settlements

By March 4, 2021June 30th, 2025No Comments

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 1980’s, life insurance options were largely seen in the form
of viatical options, which involves 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 either cancer or HIV/Aids. However, by the mid 90’s, the range for life
insurance options had broadened, and were being considered by individuals facing
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

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.
6

2010

Finding Confidence bounded back around 2010, which opened the door for many life insurance buyers to expand operations.
7

2015

U.S. states began enacting safeguards, including disclosure requirements and improved regulations to ensure the safety and legitimacy of life insurance options.
8

2020

Abacus grows to 50 home-office employees, is authorized to purchase policies in
47 states, and offers complete back-office support in areas of APS retrieval, life
expectancy evaluation, pre-pricing, and producer licensing.
9

2022

Abacus Life has continued to grow and lead the industry. With nearly 60 employees,
Abacus is now licensed to purchase life insurance in 49 states!
10

2023

Abacus Life becomes the first and only publicly traded life settlement company, listed
on the NASDAQ under the ticker ABL.
11

2024

Abacus Life continues high growth as they acquired both Carlisle Management Company
S.C.A and FCF Advisors bringing them to nearly $3 billion in assets under management.

The Carlisle acquisition provides ABL with a presence in international markets, helping
transform the company from a US leader to a global player.

Meanwhile, the company’s acquisition of FCF Advisors helps expand its suite of products as
FCF’s core offering is thematic free cash flow investments, and the company offers over 50
total customizable index strategies across 8 global categories.

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