Posted by The Policy Settlement Alliance on Wed, Aug 11, 2010 @ 11:48 AM
By Ronald C. Kerstettter
Life insurance viatical settlement, is it time do look into that? That is a question we hear from the family of sick and ill loved ones more often than you think. Life insurance viatical settlements can be a
blessing and a relief to family members charged with the care of a loved one who has fallen ill and is need of care. Where do the funds come from for this care? What is the best source of funds? My hospice finance advisor suggested I look into this, how does it work?
A life insurance viatical settlement is the sale of a life insurance policy held on the life of a critically or terminally ill person. The policy is sold to a settlement company. The use of a life settlement advisor is highly recommended when involved in a viatical settlement. The cash provided due to the viatical settlement can generally be used as the caregiver and/or family members see fit to best meet the needs of the ill patient. Whether it be medical care, home modification to allow the patient to remain at home or a myriad of other uses, the money provided by the life insurance viatical settlement is welcome and often very much needed. For more information please click on the LIVEpdq link today.
Note: Blog posts reflect the opinion of the author, which may differ from the opinion of policysettlement.com.
Posted by The Policy Settlement Alliance on Wed, Jul 07, 2010 @ 11:31 AM
by Paul K Arbo
A Life Insurance Viatical Settlement involves the sale of a life insurance policy, on someone who has been determined to have a life expectancy of 2 years or less, to a Third Party. Setting aside the emotional issue of whether it is ethical - it is a voluntary transaction so only the insured can decide - there is a huge market for anybody interested in exploring the viability of a Life Insurance Viatical Settlement.
The transaction has several critically important areas to address in order to obtain a Fair Market Value for the sale of the policy in a Life Insurance Viatical Settlement. The policy must be evaluated to determine the future costs to keep coverage in force, and the insured's medical history must be examined to project their life expectancy. Once these factors have been documented to the satisfaction of an underwriter an offer will be made, and then it is up to the insured and their advisors to determine if it is acceptable.
What I have found to be immensely helpful in getting an estimate of the Fair Market Value of a potential Life Insurance Viatical Settlement, before investing a lot of time, is to complete a quick and easy questionnaire at this very reputable site: LIVEpdq
Note: Blog posts reflect the opinion of the author, which may differ from the opinion of policysettlement.com.
Posted by Alice Hood on Wed, Jun 30, 2010 @ 08:28 AM
By Stephen A. Bailey
Life Insurance Viatical Settlement
- is a "settlement" but could be somewhat misleading. I have heard clients and prospective clients, call a Policy Settlement a viatical settlement. Or, they have called a viatical a life insurance policy settlement. I suppose technically that you could call the completion of both of these transactions, a settlement, but I look at this as a misnomer and a confusion of terms. A life insurance viatical settlement pertains to someone who has 24 or less to live. A Policy Settlement is referring to anyone with a life expectancy of more than 24 months.
Most of the industry agencies and representatives will refer to viaticals as simply viaticals, not settlements. In my future writings, as in the past ones, I will not and do not mix the two terms together. A life insurance viatical settlement is not {policy} a settlement in the strictest of terms, meaning that the insured is elderly (65 and older) and therefore when you see or hear of someone talking about "viatical settlements" you can simply ask them are they talking about someone who is essentially Terminal? If so, it is just a viatical.
As you can see the two terms really need to be separated, because a life insurance viatical settlement and a Policy settlement are really two different things. A 40 year old AIDS patient with a year or two to live, who has a $100,000 dollar policy to sell, is quite different than a 70 year old, healthy male, with a $1,000,000 dollar policy, who has a life expectancy of another 14 years.
For more information click here at
LIVEpdq.
Note: Blog posts reflect the opinion of the author, which may differ from the opinion of policysettlement.com.
Posted by Alice Hood on Tue, Jun 29, 2010 @ 01:56 PM
By Ian F Smith
A life insurance viatical
settlement is the transfer of owner and beneficiary on a life insurance policy to a third party where the insured has a life expectancy of less than two years. The third party is usually a hedge fund or institutional funder that uses as life settlement company to solicit life insurance policies for the general population. These life settlement companies are required to be licensed and insured in order to participate in the purchase of a life insurance viatical settlement.
The policy owner that completes a life insurance viatical settlement can usually expect to receive a return of forty to fifty percent of the face amount of the policy as a purchase price. The policy face amount, the amount of premium the policy requires, the insurance company, and the life expectancy of the insured are the factors that determine the amount that an owner can receive from a life insurance viatical settlement.
If you have a life insurance policy that you no longer want, you no longer need or that you can no longer afford please click our LIVEpdq link now so that we can help you today.
Note: Blog posts reflect the opinion of the author, which may differ from the opinion of policysettlement.com.
Posted by Alice Hood on Mon, Jun 28, 2010 @ 08:16 PM
By Ian F Smith
The life insurance viatical settlement market continues to change. Just like any other mature marketplace, the industry must change with economic and demographic shifts to survive.
Back in the 1980's, when the AIDS epidemic began its horrifying run, the insurance industry shifted a sympathetic ear to the needs of their terminally ill insureds. When given less than 24 months for the disease to run its full course, the industry saw an opportunity to provide cash to these insureds in exchange for their life insurance policies. A formula was derived based on percentage of death benefit and weight of premium payments, and a cash settlement was made to these effected individuals so they could take care of medical expenses, final expenses and maybe even that trip around the world that they had always dreamed of. Thus the Viatical Settlement market was born.
Then as times grew better and the pharmaceutical industry responded with life saving drugs for AIDS patients, the life insurance viatical settlement market shifted again. This time they refined their formularies and more and more investors (hedge funds) entered the market. They applied their mathematical equations to life expectancy tables and learned that they could get a decent rate of return on buying certain life insurance policies. They formed mutual fund-like pools of money and began underwriting inforce life insurance policies. The obvious market was the older more senior insured. So advisors and agents began offering to clients the alternative of having their policies appraised rather than just surrendering for cash value or worse yet just letting the policy lapse. The Senior Life Settlement market was born.
Now fast forwarding to today. The worse economic times our country has faced has decimated many industries. The life insurance viatical settlement market buckled. Investors began to refine their pencils. Now as they have always done, the insurance industry has responded. Although it is only a temporary shift, the times have created another opportunity or option for insureds. Instead of receiving a cash payout for the sale of your policy, the life insurance viatical settlement market will now offer you a certain percent of the death benefit for you to keep in exchange for buying the policy. This will give you piece of mind for your beneficiaries. Since the market has narrowed and not every older policy is eligible, this is now a new option in the settlement market. It may not be for everyone, but it is an option.
Please visit our LIVEpdq web cast to learn more.
Note: Blog posts reflect the opinion of the author, which may differ from the opinion of policysettlement.com.
Posted by Alice Hood on Mon, Jun 28, 2010 @ 08:15 PM
By Paul K Arbo
When discussing a life insurance viatical settlement you have to understand that, like most transactions, there are two sides to every story. A viatical settlement involves the sale of a life insurance policy, on the life of a terminally ill insured, to a third party. Some people might find a life insurance viatical settlement to be morbid and/or unethical - profiting from the death of an insured - while a terminally ill insured with no other means of support might consider a this type of transaction to be a godsend that dramatically improves their quality of life when they need it the most. What is important is for an objective advisor to explain the pros and cons to the insured with the understanding that the insured, as a principal party to a life insurance viatical settlement, is in a vulnerable state of mind. Unless a terminally ill insured can receive a competitive offer for their insurance policy, or their illness is so advanced that their life expectancy is really short and they can borrow enough money to live until the death benefit is paid in full, they may not want to proceed.
To get a preliminary idea of what amount of money they could potentially receive in a settlement click on the following link LIVEpdq
Note: Blog posts reflect the opinion of the author, which may differ from the opinion of policysettlement.com.
Posted by Alice Hood on Mon, Jun 28, 2010 @ 08:14 PM
By Paul K. Arbo
A life insurance viatical settlement can be a valuable asset to a terminally ill policyholder in need of cash. One of the concerns a terminally ill policyholder should have regarding a life insurance viatical settlement is whether they will receive a fair price today in exchange for giving up the death benefit which they had originally intended to leave to their heirs some time in the future. Another concern would be whether the terminally ill policyholder has access to other funds so that there isn't a real need to enter into a life insurance viatical settlement. In order to receive the most objective advice about whether or not a life settlement makes financial sense a terminally ill policyholder should work with a credentialed financial advisor who would analyze the client's total financial picture before making an informed recommendation. Then, if the recommendation is made to explore the amount of money the client could potentially receive in a life settlement the next step would be to work with an established viatical settlement brokerage firm which has access to multiple markets in order to determine the most competitive offer. To find out more information about how much money you might be able to receive for your life insurance policy in a life settlement try this link: LIVEpdq
Note: Blog posts reflect the opinion of the author, which may differ from the opinion of policysettlement.com.
Posted by Alice Hood on Mon, Jun 28, 2010 @ 08:13 PM
By Stephen A. Bailey
Life insurance viatical settlement
- who is it for? In the beginning of an era where life insurance policies have become a very valuable commodity, there were and still are, a life insurance viatical settlement. It really began with AIDS patients, not having much time left to live, long before the medications of today were available that now extend life for long periods, that viaticals became popular. They were popular for the victim, who could sell his $100,000 dollar life insurance policy for $20,000 to $40,000 thousand dollars to give them enough money to help their lives until a soon to be death. And they were popular for the investor who wold buy them and make a 50% profit in a period of a couple of years.
When they first came on the market, my personal observation and feeling was that they were corrupt in some way. I felt that investors were taking advantage, they were making money on the death of someone. It just seemed like a very cheesy transaction. In a way, a life insurance viatical settlement was.
But, as unsavory as it appeared to me, it was on the right track to more reasonable transactions to come later. I certainly do not wish death upon anyone and I don't wish to see someone taken advantage of my big concern at the time was that an investor would end up with 50% of a life insurance policy that should be going to the AIDS' victim's family.....that was really my objection to a life insurance viatical settlement. However, if the family can financially help, let them be a sort of investor, for their terminally ill family member. I still am not big on a life insurance viatical settlement for that reason, but from the standpoint of the insured, they do help him out financially.
Click here Live PDQ for more information.
Note: Blog posts reflect the opinion of the author, which may differ from the opinion of policysettlement.com.
Posted by Alice Hood on Mon, Jun 28, 2010 @ 07:56 PM
By Paul K Arbo
Trying to decide if a Life Insurance Viatical Settlement is the right choice for somebody to make requires an objective analysis by an experienced financial advisor. A life insurance viatical settlement involves the sale of an existing life insurance policy on the life of an insured who has been diagnosed as having a terminal illness with a life expectancy of two years or less. Since the terminally ill insured is often in a very fragile emotional state, they should retain the counsel of a highly credentialed expert to analyze their financial situation to determine if a life insurance viatical settlement is the right choice for them. The sale of an existing policy in a settlement will typically generate a much higher price than the insured would receive if they cashed the policy in for its cash surrender value, but the sales price would be a lot less than the ultimate death benefit. An objective analysis would help quantify the assets a terminally ill insured has available and would compare that figure to the projected costs they would have to maintain their quality of life until they pass away. If there is a shortfall, and quality of life is more important to the insured than leaving an inheritance, a settlement is an excellent source of liquidity.
If someone would like to know an approximate $ value for a settlement an easy way to find out is to complete a short questionnaire at LIVEpdq.
Note: Blog posts reflect the opinion of the author, which may differ from the opinion of policysettlement.com.
Posted by Alice Hood on Mon, Jun 28, 2010 @ 03:23 PM
By Michael J. Collins
The life insurance viatical settlement
market appeared in the market place during the AIDS epidemic of the early 1980's. The definition of a viatical settlement is where the insured has less than 24 months of life expectancy. The first carrier to allow the insured to spend a portion of his or her death benefit was actually based in Canada and was part of Prudential Insurance Company. Life insurance viatical settlement proceeds enabled terminally ill patients to acquire much needed medical care in the latter stages of this debilitating disease. Unlike later life settlements which grew in popularity, this insurance policy option did not entail transferring ownership of the policy. It was however the forerunner of how insured’s could benefit financially from their policies while still alive. It is interesting because today this availability of face proceeds to terminally ill insureds is quite common among all carriers. It is quite interesting to note that the carriers brought the life insurance viatical settlement to market which is quite a contrast how the industry has embraced life settlements.
For more information please click the LIVEpdq image.
Note: Blog posts reflect the opinion of the author, which may differ from the opinion of policysettlement.com.