Life Settlements Opinion

Industry Built On Life Settlements Changing

2010-08-17T11:21:00.000-07:00

The life settlements industry has been affected by the down turn that past couple of years without a doubt. We saw life settlement providers go out of business and life settlement brokers consilodate. There wasn't enough capital in the market to support all of the businesses that popped up. Something interesting is now happening. There is a new emphasis on putting together life settlement funds.

Basically funds are being established to raise capital for the sole purpose of buying life insurance policies on the secondary market. This is far from new. However, the old landscape was filled with many different funding sources. Investment banks, insurance companies, investment funds, hedge funds, etc.. Now we are really seeing the rise of the dedicated life settlement investment fund.

It is putting new capital to work in the life settlements market and reviving an industry that was suffering. Time will tell how much impact these new funds have, but the recent activity is a positive sign.

Life Settlements Tilting

2010-08-11T17:11:00.000-07:00

Of my many friends in the life settlements business, many are saying some of the sellers have gone away. Compared with last year, the anecdotal comments are that there aren't as many sellers right now trying to rid themselves of policies as there were last year. Oddly enough, life settlements were never considered as a tool for those needing cash first and foremost. Meaning, it wasn't used by the same demographic as say a reverse mortgage. Life settlements were thought to be an estate planning and financial planning tool of the more affluent. The average life settlement is for a $1.7 million policy. A policy that large, typically isn't held by someone who isn't affluent.

However, an argument could be made that sellers of all tax brackets came out of the woodwork last year in an effort to generate liquidity and remove expenses. So why, have the number of sellers seemingly widdled down this year? Is it because they know the market exhibited conservative buying over the past 2 years, they don't need the liquidity they previously did or are life settlements not the most attractive option available now? It may be to soon to tell, but one thing is for sure, if the sellers stay away, the buyers will be improving their offers to compete for the policies that are available.

Life Settlements And Me

2010-08-09T09:36:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. I am excited to start this blog about life settlements. I look forward to sharing my thoughts about the world of life settlements and the trials and tribulations of a life settlement broker. I will be opining about all things life settlements. Everything from LISA - Life Insurance Settlement Association to the average senior that may be considering life settlements. The good, the bad and the ugly. LOL. I promise to be an active blogger, so please keep checking in. If you have any questions about life settlements, please feel free to shoot me a message. I also love to get any interesting life settlements news items. For now, that is all, but I promise more very soon.