FAQ – Life Settlements

A Life Settlement is the sale of your existing life insurance policy to an investor at a price that is typically much more than the cash surrender value!!!

When considering options for your existing life insurance policy these are usually your only choices.

Continue paying your unwanted or unaffordable premiums.
Let the policy lapse and have nothing to show after all those premium payments.
Get a cash surrender value, which is usually a fraction of what you’ve given them all of these years.

Sell your policy by exercising your life settlement option for an amount greater than the cash surrender value!!!

Although the life settlement industry started in the 90’s, the industry has not seen significant growth until recent years. Many people have exercised the life settlement option, but most consumers, as well as financial and insurance professionals, are not aware that the life settlement option exists.

The sale of a life insurance policy is a personal decision. The reasons for selling will vary greatly from one person to another. The one common desire that all our clients share is that they want to enjoy the financial benefits from their life insurance policy now. Based on our experience representing the insured individual, we have compiled the following list of most common reasons to sell.

Personal Reasons:

See the money enjoyed by relatives
Take a long awaited vacation
Purchase a luxury item that was never affordable
Family reunion
Prepaid college fund
Go back to school
Fund alternative healthcare that insurance will not cover
Upon leaving an employer – sell old group policy
Donate to a favorite charity
Financial Reasons:

Pay off debt
Pay off a house
Investments in other financial vehicles
Policy premium no longer affordable
Start a business
Fund better healthcare

Regrettably, life insurance is often an underutilized resource. Statistics show that 90% of all life insurance policies lapse or are surrendered because of non-payment. Policies that do manage to stay in force are often under-performers or no longer needed. Especially problematic are universal life policies written since the 1980s. These policies often fail to meet expectations because of the rate of interest at which they were written. In some cases, the premiums did not “disappear” as had been projected; leaving seniors with unplanned expenses. For these and other reasons, many people are losing out on their policy’s accumulated value.

Our existing clients choose us because of our commitment to strong ethical standards, our high client service, and our ability to secure the very highest offers. Our services are free and without obligation. Remember, the only way to understand the true value of your life insurance is to have it appraised.

The process is simple and non-intrusive, and no medical exam is ever required. One straightforward request form begins the process.

Yes. We can work with your trusted financial advisor, personal attorney, insurance agent, or even a family member if you choose.

On average, it takes approximately 6 to 8 weeks to have an appraisal conducted. Obtaining information from your doctors and insurance company is the most time consuming phase of this process.

We have relationships with a robust group of Life Settlement providers. Since we are a broker, we can take your file to the entire marketplace, and create competing offers for your policy. This increases the amount you will receive, and eliminates the need for you to submit multiple applications to reach the entire marketplace.

There are many factors that determine the offer amounts:

-Age of insured
-Premiums
-Insured’s Health
-Type of Policy
-Policy Size

The general rule is that age, health, and future premiums are the primary factors that determine the amount of the Life Settlement offer.

Are there any costs to the appraisal process?
-At Life Settlements America, we conduct policy appraisals without cost or obligation.

No, a medical exam is not required. We will be requesting medical records from your doctors, and that will be sufficient to conduct the appraisal.

There is absolutely no obligation on your part to accept any offer. The appraisal value we determine for you is still good information to help you understand your financial picture.

Both are conducted through the same process. The difference is that a Viatical Settlement is for someone with a life threatening illness.