Life Insurance Settlement Industry Creates Secondary Market.
Think of a world where buyers are ready and willing to purchase your vehicle at a price substantially more than its trade-in value and you can choose the highest bidder. No advertising, no bargaining, no expense to you. Fiction? Nope. Such a world exists,not for vehicles, but for life insurance policies intended for lapse or surrender. These owners will receive a settlement before death.
The life settlement industry has given birth to a secondary market for buying and selling of life insurance policies from qualifying life insurance holders, who receive an offer guaranteed to exceed the current cash value of the policy. In 2002, life settlement providers paid about $340 million to buy policies with an aggregate cash value of $94 million.
Life Insurance Policyholders who qualify for life insurance settlements are generally older than sixty five years of age; have deteriorating health, but are not considered terminally ill; and have “ascertainable and limited” life expectancies between two and 15 years. Qualified policies are at least two years old, pay death benefits between $100,000 and $5 million and are issued by an “A” rated insurance company.
A CHANGING INDUSTRY
Relatively new, the life insurance settlement industry evolved from “viatical” settlements, which catered to the specific needs of terminally ill policyholders. Viatical life settlements enable an insured to receive benefits, before death, to pay for the high costs of medical care. Life settlements, also known as senior settlements, do not involve a terminally ill policy holder (less than 24-month life expectancy) but a determinable life expectancy based upon the insured’s age, health and lifestyle.
The life insurance policy’s fair market value is the present value of the death benefit, considering the policy’s duration and carrying costs. Other factors affecting the fair market value include the type of life policy, the policy’s cash value and any loans against the policy.
A life insurance settlement transaction creates a taxable event with two tiers. The first tier is the difference between the cost basis and cash value, most likely taxed as ordinary income. The second tier is the excess of life settlement proceeds over the surrender value.
The IRS has not provided any specific guidance yet, however, whether this money is considered to qualify as a long-term capital gain. The tax treatment of a viatical settlement is markedly different. The Internal Revenue Service considers these tax-exempt accelerated death benefits.
WHEN SHOULD I SELL OR BUY LIFE INSURANCE?
Life settlements are a great option when you can’t afford your premiums. Declines in interest rates on the short end have cut down the cash flow of seniors living on a fixed income. With life insurance settlements, premiums disappear and distressed policy holders receive cash up front.
Potentially the senior citizen has outlived all beneficiaries and the payout of life insurance would create a taxable estate. What if the senior citizen, due to health issues, doesn’t qualify for long-term care insurance. Life Insurance Settlement funds could be used to pay for long term health care.
From a financial perspective, life insurance settlements should be considered when a business is for sale or the owner is retiring. If your client is a non profit, or charity, it may be possible to consider selling donated life policies to realize cash and eliminate future premiums
Why do individuals want to buy life insurance policies? Many life insurance settlement providers are funded by big banks that view life insurance as an asset in a diversified investment portfolio. These financial conglomerates] rely on actuarial and other quantitative data to acquire a favorable life insurance policy that will produce a expected rate of return at maturity. These insurance policies are held in a blind trust that may be used as collateral for a bond offering in a process known as secondary market securitization.
POTENTIAL FIDUCIARY ISSUES
Life insurance products are acquired] for a host of reasons and should be a part of every estate and financial plan. As with any financial vehicle, these policies should be reviewed frequently. Usually they are not.
A good insurance policy at the time of purchase does not mean you have a good policy years later. In today’s low short term interest rate environment, many policies written in an environment when rates were substantially higher might require replacement?
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