Life Settlements Benefit Both Client and Agent
(Life Insurance Selling, November, 2007)

...A life settlement broker can save a life insurance agent considerable time and effort in a life settlement transaction (particularly for an agent who doesn't "know the ropes") and ensure best execution and value for the client.

"Always ask for references, and choose your broker as carefully as a life settlement provider," says Stephen Shorrock, Co-Managing Director of Select Life SettlementCorporation in Northort, NY. Shorrock is also past President and CEO of Bankers Life Insurance Company of New York, and a recognized expert in the field. He shares several examples of life settlements in which his firm, in the role of broker, created a successful match between a policy seller and a life settlement provider such as Legacy Benefits.

Beatrice, a 71-year-old female, owned a $1 million universal life policy and was paying $72,000 in annual premiums. The cash value of the policy was $51,000. Beatrice could no longer afford the premiums and wanted to sell the policy on the secondary market. Realizing a significant profit, she wound up settling for $155,000, over three times the cash value.

Jim, an 83-year-old retired businessman, held a universal life policy with a face amount of $540,000. The policy had virtually $0 cash value and the premium was no longer affordable for him. The policy was purchased to provide for key person coverage and the policy had outlived its usefulness when Jim retired. Through a life settlement, he received $101,000 for the policy. He used this income to help fund his wife’s experimental treatment for an illness not covered by their medical insurance.

Bill, an 89-year-old male was in the process of relocating to a nursing home. He was insured under an $800,000 universal life policy issued in 2000.. The policy had a cash value of $78,000. Current premiums were already $50,000 annually and were slated to double within 10 years. One of his key intentions for the policy was to offset estate taxes. However, due to his personal finances and tax law changes, this was now unnecessary. The policy received $390,000 on the secondary market--five times the cash value. Bill was ecstatic to realize this from a policy that had outlived its usefulness.