For life insurance policy holders that are age 70 or older, life settlements have become a popular option if the policy has a high enough value. Independent reports have estimated that among this group of seniors, as many as 20% have policies that possess a higher value on the market than they do if the owner were to cash it out with the carrier. Unfortunately, many policy owners are still unfamiliar with the life settlement options that are available to them.
However, this is apt to change with the attention that the concept is gaining in the media and elsewhere. A number of prestigious media sources have written about life insurance settlements, including Business Week, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, and Time Magazine. There are also several high-profile proponents who are working to bring the option to the forefront and ensure that more seniors are aware of the value that their policies might hold. These include former U.S. Representative Bill Gradison and Warren Buffett.
While it used to be that policy holders would only learn about this option if the financial professionals that they worked with chose to mention it, the idea that presenting this option to a client should be standard procedure is gaining popularity with financial experts. There is a new emphasis by established professionals that clients should be educated on the life settlement process if there is the possibility that they could benefit from it.