Senior citizens benefit from Life Settlements because the transaction provides a means for the future-value of the life policy to be converted to its present-value.

A Life Settlement transactions provide senior citizens aged 65 and up with a liquid exit strategy from life insurance policies that are no longer needed, wanted or affordable. A Life Settlement is a sale of a life insurance policy to an institutional third-party purchaser for an amount that exceeds the cash-surrender value of the policy but is less than the face-value or death benefit of the policy. The purchaser of the policy in a Life Settlement transaction pays a lump-sum amount to the senior citizen who owns the life policy in consideration of irrevocably receiving all rights to future death benefits and ownership ascribed to the policy. The purchaser will correspondingly maintain all premium payments on the policy to keep it in force.

• The insured is aged 65+ or has a life expectancy of less than 15 years.
  
• The face-value or death benefit of the life insurance should be $100,000 or greater.
  
• The policy must be in force and pass the 2 year period of contestability.
  
• All types of life insurance policies qualify for an appraisal including but not limited to Whole, UL, VUL, Convertible Term and Term Coverage.
  

Life insurance policies that meet these preliminary requirements qualify for a complimentary appraisal. Underwriting Life Settlement contracts require extensive due diligence, processing and further negotiation. On average, the process from application to the receipt of the funds require between 4-6 weeks. Therefore, professionals and brokers are advised to begin investigating the applicability of Life Settlements in specific cases and transactions early in the process. Addressing the topic with clients is simple.When conducting due diligence, remember to ask senior clients "Do you own life insurance coverage?"