A Broad View of the Marketplace
The life settlements marketplace continues to grow by leaps and bounds – and BB&G strives to keep our clients and partners abreast of industry trends.
Many advisers have wealthy senior-aged clients who no longer have a need for their life insurance policies. At BB&G, we help these advisers navigate this constantly changing marketplace and sell unwanted policies for greater than their current cash value. This service has become extremely helpful for those with estate planning issues or can no longer afford or need their life insurance.
Taking a Glance at Settlements History
While the life settlements industry didn’t truly begin to take off until the 1990’s, the genesis of the market began a decade earlier. In the 1980’s these agreements were known as viatical settlements and they were primarily purchased on the lives of terminally ill individuals.
Later, in the 1990’s, an aging baby boomer generation and their parents, coupled with innovative funding options on the secondary market, facilitated a competitive increase in the price of life insurance policies. Today, 45 states have life settlement laws and settlement companies have more money to bid on policies than ever before. The settlements process offers great transparency and as more and more professional advisers and their clients learn about the concept, it continues to gain popularity.
Candidates for a Life Settlement
- Insured is at least 70 years old
- Those with insurance policies in danger of lapse or surrender
- Those who could benefit from changes in estate tax laws
- An insured who can no longer afford premium payments
- Those who experience a change for the worse in health status
- An insured who outlives his or her beneficiaries
- Business owners nearing retirement or on the verge of partnership dissolution
- Those who have a need for new life insurance, long term care or annuities
