Everything is getting more expensive these days. Gas prices are higher, food prices are higher, used car prices are higher—it seems like nothing right now is immune from the effects of inflation. And it’s not going away anytime soon.
It’s true—according to “The Life Settlements Report” released by The Deal, 3,241 people sold their life insurance policies in 2020 for a combined total of over $848 million. It’s a staggering number, and despite the societal impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic, it represented a significant increase over the amount that was sold the year prior.
Many life insurance policy owners may wonder where to start when pursuing a life settlement provider. Selling a life insurance policy is an important decision for policyholders to make and one that should not be taken lightly. They need to know they can trust their provider to help them sell their policy, which is why the decision must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Having a complete understanding of your client and their goals is imperative in guiding them in their determination of how to choose a life settlement provider.
Life settlements are a great way for retirees to gain a bit of extra cash in times of need. They are generally a win-win for everybody involved, from your clients who receive them to the institutions that invest in them. While there are lots of rules and regulations surrounding the practice of settling life insurance policy, it can definitely be a great way for policyholders to receive funds if they realize they no longer want or need their policy. In this blog, we’ll cover a few reasons why your client may need a life insurance settlement.
The life settlement industry has been on a steady rise since the 1980’s, with Conning predicting a 1-2% increase since 2019. The direct to consumer segment of the life settlement industry has also experienced growth during this time as well, with life settlement companies following the retail and travel industries who have operated on this model for years. In this blog, we’ll explain how the method works and who these companies represent.
There are many reasons to work with a life insurance professional and your clients may be asking for more information on the options of working with a specific life insurance professional. How do you provide all the information for your client that is simple and straightforward? This article can help. Let’s go over the top 5 reasons to work with a life insurance professional.
Evaluating life settlement companies can be a difficult and confusing process. The process of selling an unwanted or unneeded policy is regulated in most states which can add to the headache and confusion. There are several different types of life settlement companies that work with policyholders, but each type plays a different role in the process. Before selling your policy, it is important to understand who you are working with and how to evaluate certain key details involved in the process.
Do you have a life insurance policy that you’re about to let lapse? Are you 65 years or older?
There are a lot of factors that go into determining the value of a life settlement. However, none are as important as your ability to achieve as much value as possible for your clients through careful and strategic persuasion with prospective buyers. To help you negotiate successfully, here are five useful tips for getting your client the best settlement the market allows.
The Life Insurance Settlement Association (LISA) today endorsed H.R. 5958, the “Senior Health Planning Account Act”, introduced by Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY) and Rep. Gregory Steube (R-FL).
The life settlement industry is undergoing a period of steady growth, fueled by demographic tailwinds and increased consumer awareness of the life settlement option as an alternative to lapse or surrender of a life insurance policy. But leading your business through a season of rapid growth can be just as challenging as navigating through adverse market conditions.
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The Life Insurance Settlement Association (LISA) will host its 25th Annual Fall Life Settlement & Compliance Conference, the longest-running professional conference in the life settlement industry, on October 13-15 at the Hilton Nashville Downtown in Nashville, Tenn.
Most baby boomers were raised with an ethic of working hard for their whole lives, saving a little money along the way and hoping they would stash away enough in savings to enjoy their retirement years.
Unfortunately, far too often, policies are lapsed or surrendered without investigating the possibility of a life settlement.Here are five recent cases that optimized the value of policies that otherwise would have been terminated with little or no value:
The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College recently completed an academic analysis of five national surveys that are frequently used to measure the financial resources available to American households in retirement. The goal was to objectively study the question of whether the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS) actually understates retirement in-come in the U.S.
The U.S. life insurance industry is beginning to understand the vast potential benefits of robotic process automation (RPA) and artificial intelligence (AI). These two related breakthrough technological innovations leverage the power of machine learning to increase productivity and reduce the risks associated with human error.
ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Life Insurance Settlement Association (LISA) today announced the agenda and featured speakers for LISA’s 24th Annual Fall Life Settlement & Compliance Conference, the longest-running professional conference in the life settlement industry, to be held October 21st-23rd at Disney’s BoardWalk Inn, just outside of Orlando, Fla
Here are 5 ways that ILIT users can respond to the changes.
The Tax Cuts and Job Act of 2017 (TCJA) doubled the already sizeable estate tax exemption.
The life settlement industry is expected to benefit from favorable demographic trends and technology innovations that will make it easier for consumers to sell their life insurance policies, according to featured speakers today at The Life Insurance Settlement Association (LISA)’s Eighth Annual Life Settlement Institutional Investor Conference.
Two pieces of the new tax law, the Tax Cuts and Job Act of 2017 (TCJA), have a significant impact on life settlements: the increased estate tax exemption and the clarification of the income tax treatment for life settlements.
A 2017 report by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Long-Term Care Subgroup includes life settlements among three options for paying for long-term care.
While Canadian snowbirds are soaking up the sunshine and warmth in the southern US, many can’t help but notice the availability of products in the south which they can’t get in the north.
It’s likely that some of your clients were lulled into a false sense of security with the seemingly endless string of “green” days on Wall Street over the past few years. If so, they were shocked back into reality in the month of February.
For seniors who have already entered retirement, there are some important things that can be done in 2018 to make it better and more fulfilling:
A Wall Street Journal recent article entitled “Millions Bought Insurance to Cover Retirement Health Costs. Now They Face an Awful Choice”, discussed the recent trend of increases in rates for long term care insurance. The article discusses how many people were told that they would have level premiums to cover medical needs in the future. These consumers paid their premiums and kept their end of the bargain, only to be told that the insurance companies did not correctly estimate the costs and the risks.
If you’re like most people, you bought your life insurance policy because you wanted to take care of your family.
Over the past few years, we’ve found that life settlements have gradually been moving more into the mainstream financial world. As we meet with advisors, we find that many more know about this secondary market solution than was true in the past.
How to talk to your clients about the idea of selling their life insurance policies.
Wealth managers and estate planners are becoming more familiar with life settlement transactions, in which your client sells his policy to a third-party investor and receives a cash payout, thereby monetizing the asset immediately. The new owner takes responsibility for paying the premiums and collects the policy’s death benefit when the client passes away.
For advisors who work with clients already in retirement, it can be challenging to know exactly what kind of advice to provide seniors when it comes to life insurance.
ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 17, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Many American families today are facing financial security challenges and need to know their life insurance policies may be able to be monetized to help them address those financial needs, according to E. Benjamin Nelson, a former two-term U.S. Senator from Nebraska.
This summer, the State of Florida gave a jolt to the growing “Senior’s Right to Know” movement in America – and all registered financial consultants need to be aware of these latest developments.
As millions of baby boomers continue their mass exodus from the workforce to retirement, they are already coming to grips with the reality that investment returns in the coming years are unlikely to keep pace with those of recent history, as illustrated by the modified projections recently used by Calpers and other major institutional investors. Now comes a new study that adds insult to injury: the principal driving force for these depressed returns is none other than the baby boomer generation itself.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has approved a document for policymakers and various stakeholders that provides an overview of long-term care (LTC) financing mechanisms currently available in the private market, including the life settlement option.
This summer, the Certified Financial Planners (CFP) Board is proposing some bold changes to their fiduciary standards. Many of the approximately 77,000 CFPs in the United States could be impacted.
ORLANDO, Fla., June 27, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed legislation yesterday that contains a key consumer disclosure requirement to protect Florida consumers who are considering making changes to a life insurance policy.
The life settlement marketplace is poised for new growth opportunities as industry participants better leverage emerging technologies to facilitate the sale of seniors’ life insurance policies, according to speakers at this week’s 23rd Annual Spring Life Settlement Conference.
On the surface, it would appear that individual retirement accounts are a popular choice for Americans, with roughly one in three U.S. households owning at least one IRA. But a study just released by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College suggests that IRAs may not be working for retirees the way they were intended.
In May 2009, the IRS issued
Revenue Ruling 2009-13 addressing the
tax implications of a life settlement to the seller of a life insurance policy. H.R. 1262 was recently introduced to remedy the shortcomings of this revenue ruling.
The sustained low interest rate environment brought on by the financial crisis of the late-2000s has forced financial planners to revisit some of the broad assumptions we’ve made in the past for projecting portfolio returns. A new article in the Journal of Financial Planning, “Planning for a More Expensive Retirement,” takes this anecdotal reality to an empirical level by studying the implications of continued low returns on retirement plans.
Life settlements are frequently viewed, primarily, as an option for personal life insurance and estate planning policies that are no longer wanted, needed or affordable. However, business-owned policies or personally owned business purpose policies can also make excellent life settlement candidates, yet these policies are often overlooked.
The Life Insurance Settlement Association (LISA) today announced the schedule and featured speakers for its 23rd Annual Spring Life Settlement Conference, to be held May 14-16, 2017, at the Omni Austin Hotel in downtown Austin, Texas.
The days of selling a policy in a life settlement and replacing it with a new one are mostly gone, but one variation on that strategy can still work in the right situation.
There is a peculiar paradox in the financial advisory world: Ninety percent of seniors who lapsed a life insurance policy would have considered a life settlement had they been aware of the possibility. Yet 65 percent of financial advisors have never recommended a life settlement to a client, but claim they would do so under the right circumstances.
A number of factors have reignited the life settlement market with both consumers and investors showing rising interest.
ORLANDO, Fla., Dec. 20, 2017 The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the sweeping tax legislation passed by Congress and expected to be signed into law this week by President Trump, contains an important reform to the way the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has required calculating the taxable basis for life settlement transactions, a positive development for seniors who own a life insurance policy they no longer need or can afford.
The Life Insurance Settlement Association (LISA) today announced that a Senior Staff Member of the Senate Finance Committee, will serve as the keynote speaker for LISA’s Seventh Annual Life Settlement Institutional Investor Conference
