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June 15, 2015 at 06:30 AM
From time to time, a misinformed person takes to his or her computer and publishes something about life settlements that confuses folks with false and misleading information. Unfortunately, in the era of digital media, one inaccurate article can live a long and destructive life on the Internet. When that happens, it’s important to call a timeout and set the record straight.
Don’t get confused by what you may read on other websites or blogs: life settlement transactions are highly regulated and have been upheld by numerous court decisions as perfectly legal and appropriate. In fact, there have been only two closed consumer complaints nationwide involving life or viatical settlements since 2012, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioner’s Consumer Information Resource.
The confusion often arises when people misunderstand the difference between a life settlement transaction (selling a life insurance policy that may no longer be needed or affordable) and life settlement investment (buying a life policy, or a fractional interest in a policy, for an investment return).
A life settlement transaction is the sale by the owner of a life insurance policy to a third party for an amount greater than its cash surrender value and less than the death benefit. The seller of the policy receives a cash payment; the buyer of the policy assumes all future premiums payments and receives the death benefit upon the passing of the insured.
Life settlements are both legal and regulated
In 1911, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Grigsby v. Russell, which recognized the rights of the life insurance policy owners to transfer ownership of their life insurance policies to a third party and paved the way for the birth of the life settlement industry in the U.S.
As of 2015, 42 states and the territory of Puerto Rico regulate life settlements, affording approximately 90 percent of the United States population protection under comprehensive life settlement laws and regulations. A life settlement offers a potentially valuable alternative to lapsing an unneeded or unwanted life policy back to the life insurance company.
