An 89 year old female approached an agent of ours about reducing the face value of her $4,000,000 policy due to increases in the premiums due. This universal life policy had been issued 15 years earlier and premiums were now projected to cost $467,227 annually to properly fund the policy to age 100.
The agent looked at using the policy’s cash value of $161,687 and a reduced death benefit to help the client afford to maintain some coverage. But then he thought of an alternative and decided to pursue the possible sale of this policy with Settlement Benefits Association.
Even at her advanced age, the client was relatively healthy. Her chief complaint was rheumatoid arthritis. However, after an intensive diligence review of her medical records, SBA was able to identify significant anemia, multiple falls, and TIA. This helped impact her life expectancy reporting and aided in the negotiation of several offers from potential buyers.
After receiving an initial bid of $122,000; SBA was able to utilize its experience negotiating with the licensed buyers in this state to drive up the price of the policy. Ultimately, 5 different Life Settlement providers (buyers) were involved in the final round of bidding and the best offer delivered $450,000 to the client’s trust, which owned the policy. Without the use of a professional broker, this client would not have captured that value and certainly would have been left in a less desirable position.