As an experienced professional in life insurance settlements, I talk to seniors and financial planner everyday providing advice on the best ways to maximize the profit on the sale of their life insurance policy.

For an overview of Senior Life Insurance Settlements see the bottom of this article.

Of course, I consistently find that there are two basic goals of any senior seeking a life insurance settlement. One, they want to be assured of a safe and secure transaction and two, they are trying to achieve the highest possible dollar value for their life insurance policy. To achieve the goal in point number one, I would insure that the broker was licensed in my state. For licensing information you can contact your local Department of Insurance. And to insure the highest settlement value, I would be certain to use the services on more than one broker and. You should start search by contacting at least 5 life settlement brokers, and narrow down you selection to 2 or 3. For a list of these you can contact the Life Insurance Settlement Association.

Some important questions I would ask when you interview life settlement brokers:

Are you licensed in my state?

How long as your company been in business?

How many life settlement cases do you close in a year?

What steps will you take to process and market my case?

What is your commission?

Will all commissions be disclosed at closing

What is a Life Settlement?

A Life Settlement is a cash payment in exchange for an existing life insurance policy, with payment in excess of the Cash Surrender Value. The purchaser takes owner policy ownership and pays all future premiums. For example, a senior owns a $1,000,000 life insurance policy with a Cash Surrender Value (CSV) of $75,000. The CSV is the amount the insurance carrier will pay on a surrendered policy. If eligible, the policy can be sold in exchange for a higher amount (i.e. a Life Settlement) on the open market. The open market is also referred to as the secondary life insurance market, where qualified funding institutions purchase policies in exchange for the beneficiary assignment. On average, a Life Settlement will pay 2 to 5 times more than the CSV. To insure that a policy receives the highest bids possible, it is important that a Life Settlement application is exposed to all institutional funders. A policy without a cash surrender value can also qualify for a Life Settlement. Many factors determine eligibility, which are discussed in detail at www.aimsettlements.com