Viatical Settlements
A viatical settlement is the sale of a life insurance
policy by the policy owner, before the policy matures. Such a sale, at a
price discounted from the face amount of the policy but usually in excess of
the premiums paid or current cash surrender value, provides the seller an
immediate cash settlement. Generally, viatical settlements involve insured
individuals with a life expectancy of less than two years. Some people are
also familiar with life settlements, which are similar transactions but
involve insured with longer life expectancies (two to twelve years). A
viatical settlement can be an innovative wealth and estate planning tool
under the right circumstances. It also essentially creates an open market
for redemption of a policy. For example, if the only place you could sell
your Ford Motor Company stock was to Ford you would not get that much for
it. The same applies to the value of an insurance policy. As long as life
insurance has been around, the only place to redeem your policy was from the
issuer. Now, much to the chagrin of the life insurance industry, there is an
open market to determine a policy's value. From the perspective of the
investor, purchasing a viatical settlement is similar to buying a bond with
a negative coupon and an uncertain redemption date. The return depends on
the seller's life expectancy and when he or she dies.
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