What are Viatical
& Life Settlements?
Viatical and Life Settlements
are cash payments made to people who sell their life insurance for a percentage of the
death benefit. It is rare for anyone to be paid as much as 30 percent of the death benefit.
The Viatical Settlement
industry took its name from a Latin word, viaticum, which means provisions
for a final journey.
For terminally ill
people, Viatical Settlements relieve financial distress. They use the funds for
medical care, to save a family home from foreclosure, to pay children's medical or dental expenses .
. .
For seniors whose policies are decades old and no longer need life insurance or cannot afford
the premiums, Life Settlements provide more cash than if they took the net surrender value from the insurer.
(If the policy is term insurance, there is no cash surrender value.)
For Investors, Viatical
Settlements mean potential for great profit while doing good for someone in need.
That's the good part.
Unfortunately, it's the tip of
the iceberg.
Viators:
What sales promoters don't tell you
Too often Viators (sellers) act without information, without guidance.
If they know nothing more than what an insurance agent or a settlement company tells them, they are likely to
paid tens of thousands less. Why not take time to know at least as much as you do before buying a television
or a car?
Some seniors are lured to commit fraud by the local, trusted insurance agent who stands to
gain tens of thousands in commissions. These seniors are promised "free life insurance" (for two years) and
"zero premium life insurance" and a cash payment. No one warns them about the risk they take by violating the
law. No one warns them about the risk their relatives take by signing waiver of beneficiary rights, as part of
the fraudulent transaction
Few Investors --
including sophisticated investors like financial planners, banks, hedge funds, Warren Buffet -- know the many risks.
Buffet's may be the dumbest investment he ever made. But he can afford to lose hundreds of thousands. Can you
afford the loss of the money you plan to invest? Do you know that this is an unregulated investment?
Do you know that the SEC does not regulate companies that register? Enron, a prime example of massive fraud,
was registered with the SEC.
Investors:
What sales promoters don't tell you
Free
Information:
This
website has more than 200 pages of free information. More information is
available through our books, many of which can be borrowed from your local
library. Please do not contact us for additional free information. We have
neither the time nor the resources to allow us to respond -- and we do receive
many inquiries each week. However, when there are a number of questions on the
same issue, such as "Should Investors Pay Premiums?" we will publish a Special
Report.
