Monday, November 2, 2020

Why Life Settlements Are Increasingly Becoming Popular



A resident of New Jersey and CEO and owner of Mid-Atlantic Financial, LLC, Bill Schantz has extensive experience in the insurance industry, having worked with a number of Fortune 500 companies. As the company head, Bill Schantz was involved with introducing life settlements to the capital markets.

Life settlements have increasingly become an option for many seniors who are looking for ways to fund future expenses. Life settlement policyholders can, under certain circumstances, sell their insurance policy tax-free, but in the context of the current pandemic, this tactic for asset management has become an option for many in the mainstream.

Outside of its tax benefits, life settlements can culminate in a person selling an unwanted insurance policy for up to three times its surrender value. Moreover, cash settlements can provide an immediate source of income, which prevents them from dipping into other invested accounts. Then, in the time of COVID, life settlements can help some seniors who have been forced to return to work because their portfolios have suffered from economic impacts.

In both 2017 and 2018, the estate tax exemption was increased, making converting an unwanted policy into cash a better choice. The regulatory environment is such that consumers are provided protections where life settlement policies are concerned. Governing organizations in the insurance industry have established initiatives to make sure policyholders are informed, and most, if not all, states have established disclosure policies for these types of transactions.

Finally, insurance carriers have increased the cost of insurance because interest rates are low. To make up for this revenue, carriers have passed on the charge to customers. For this reason, many policyholders have chosen to sell their policies.