Most Americans are still unfamiliar with life settlements. For those that have heard of the practice of selling an existing life insurance policy, there are a number of common misconceptions about the relatively new transaction. These misunderstandings too often bias or prevent people from exploring the option that could potentially offer a great financial benefit.
Life insurance policies were originally purchased as viaticals from AIDS and other terminally ill patients in the 1980′s and 1990′s. However, the majority of life settlements now involve healthy seniors. Purchasers do not require or even target ill insureds. Insureds need not be in poor health to have a life insurance policy qualify for a life settlement transaction.
When someone buys a new life insurance policy, quite often a medical exam is required. However, when selling an existing policy in a life settlement no medical exam or doctor visit is required. A life settlement broker will request the existing medical records from the insured’s physician and then forward to an independent actuary for review. Those reviews are used by potential buyers to formulate their purchase offers.
Many people assume that a life insurance policy must have extensive cash value in order to qualify for a life settlement. The opposite is actually true. While cash value in some policies can be used by buyers to pay future premiums, it also presents an obstacle for purchasers. A life settlement offer must exceed the cash value of a policy or the seller will not be sufficiently motivated to participate in a life settlement. Therefore, policies with too much cash value will be too expensive for potential purchasers.
While life settlements are still foreign to many Americans, the industry is growing in popularity and notoriety. Eliminating the confusion that exists in the marketplace will help seniors unlock the potential windfall many don’t realize they have in their own life insurance policies. The first step is to find a good life settlement broker to assist with the process and then evaluate the offers that are presented.
Want to find out more about a life settlement, then visit The Life Settlement Monitor blog.
Tags: affordable life insurance, finance, insurance, life insurance, life settlement, personal finance, retirement