Insurance World

Terminal illnesses not only destroy lives, but they can also erode the financial stability of individuals and their families. A viatical settlement, however, can provide financial support and emotional comfort to those with serous diseases.

A viatical settlement is simply the sale of the benefits of a life insurance policy to a third party. Viatical settlements, also called “viaticals”, allow individuals facing a terminal illness to use the present day value of their life insurance policy to ease the financial burdens.

The viatical settlement business originated in the 1980s as a way to give terminally ill AIDS patients early access to their life insurance benefits. Since then, the use of viatical settlements has broadened significantly. Viaticals now include policy holders suffering from Lou Gehrig№s disease, cancer, heart disease and other life-threatening illnesses.

The Importance of Viatical Settlements

Viatical settlements can provide an important source of funding for terminally ill people battling the high costs of medical care. An estimated 40 million Americans are not covered by health insurance, and many are often unable to earn a living because of their illness. These individuals must cover their medical costs out-of-pocked on top of daily living expenses such as food, shelter, utilities and transportation. Viatical settlements allow people in these circumstances to maintain a level of financial security during their final months or years.

Viatical settlements are completely legal transactions based on this concept: Investors buy life insurance benefits from insured individuals for a percentage of the face value of their policies. Then they collect the full amount of the death benefit on the policy when that person dies. For terminally ill people, viatical settlements allow them to receive a partial payment on their policies while they are still alive. They can use these funds to pay for their health care, to meet daily living expenses, or even take a well-deserved vacation with their families. The bottom line is: Viatical settlements enable individuals to take advantage of their life insurance benefits before they die and enhance the quality of the life they have remaining.

How Viatical Settlements Work

Viatical settlements are relatively common. Here’s how they work. The owner of the life insurance policy sells the policy for a percentage of the death benefit. The discounted price received is typically 60 to 70 percent of the policy’s face value.

The viatical settlement buyer becomes the new policy owner and/or beneficiary of the life insurance policy and is responsible for paying all future premiums. The buyer also collects the death benefit of the policy when the insured dies.
The original owner of the insurance policy, incidentally, may not necessarily be the individual with the life-threatening illness.

The approval process for viatical agreements is generally based on the nature of the illness or condition and a doctor’s review of the insured’s medical records. Usually the viatical settlement transaction is facilitated through a broker or a trusted insurance agent—without the buyer ever meeting the ill person.

Guidelines for the Sale of Viatical Settlements

Almost any type of life insurance can be sold through a viatical settlement as long as the policy doesn’t prohibit transferring ownership rights. Universal, whole, term, and even group life insurance policies are usually accepted.

However many policies include a “contestability clause” that allows an insurance company to cancel a policy if it discovers that the policy holder had a preexisting condition. Therefore, most settlement companies will only buy policies that are at least two years old.

There are generally two types of companies that purchase viatical settlements. The first type buys life insurance policies directly from ill people, using either private funds or proceeds from the sale of company stock. These companies, themselves, hold all the rights to the insurance policy and act as the designated beneficiary of the policy. These are considered to be “non-brokered” transactions because the viatical settlement provider purchases the policies directly.

The second type of viatical settlement company acts as a broker or intermediary—the category into which most settlement companies fall. They match a group of potential buyers with a life insurance policy available for sale, rather than directly purchasing the policy. As the broker, the viatical settlement company doesn’t own the policy. Instead, it is entitled to a percentage of the death benefit or purchase price—usually 4 to 6 percent—as compensation for its services.

Each settlement company has its own set of rules and limitations that govern the purchase of viaticals. The death benefit percentage that individuals receive when selling their policies is largely determined by their life expectancy. The shorter the life expectancy, the more they can expect to receive for their insurance benefits.

For example, an individual with just eight months to live may receive more than 90 percent of a policy’s face value. Someone expected to live for two years, on the other hand, may only be able get 50 percent of the death benefit.

State Regulations

Regardless of how much the policy holder receives from the insurance policy, viatical settlement payments are generally tax-free. However, to qualify for tax-favored treatment, the individual must be terminally ill and live in a state that regulates viatical settlements. Residents of other states may receive a tax benefit if the company buying the policy satisfies viatical settlement guidelines outlined by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

There are a variety of limitations involved with viaticals sales, depending on the state involved. Therefore, anyone considering a viatical settlement should consult with a qualified tax and legal professionals.

As another piece of advice: Before finalizing a viatical settlement, policy holders should also explore options that their life insurance firms may offer. Increasingly, companies allow policy holders to borrow against their policies. And some policies offer a cash value separate from the death benefit and accelerated death benefits that can offer access to cash. If no feasible options are available, viatical settlements may be the ideal option for terminally ill individuals and their families.

In Part 1, we detailed the first five strategies on how to cut your car insurance costs. In Part 2, we show you the second five.

STEP 6 - Review, Change or Cancel No Fault & PIP (Personal Injury Protection)

No-Fault Coverage, and it’s Twin - PIP - started out as great idea’s. Your premiums were actually going to be lowered. Then, your State Politicians got involved (at the urging of Insurance Lobbyists, of course) and mucked it up.

You see, no-fault insurance coverage was originally intended to have each individual’s losses, covered by their own car insurance company - no matter who was at fault.

Today, in many States, car insurance companies are making a ton of money on no-fault because the insurance companies convinced State law-makers to make “modifications.”

Today, because of the these changes, car insurance companies have actually used the no-fault laws to reduce payments on a claim made by a customer, instead of reducing car insurance premiums as it was supposed to do.

So, premiums keep going up-and-up and insurance companies end up paying less for claims - Someone’s getting rich on that deal….and it’s not you.

And to make matters worse, some States (with really, really talented Insurance Lobbyist’s) also require an additional premium be paid on top of the no-fault premium. This beauty is called Personal Injury Protection (PIP).

PIP is a “wide-blanket” of coverage and can provide Collision Coverage, Hospitalization, Social Security Disability, Workers Comp, Personal Disability Insurance & Life Insurance.

The problem with PIP and what it covers is….

You already gave most, if not all, of these coverage’s anyway, don’t you? So, you’re paying twice!

So, you need to do a couple of things:

Google “minimum levels of required auto insurance” to see if No-Fault Insurance and/or PIP Is required in your State;

Then, check your policy. If it’s not required by your State to have No-Fault/PIP Coverage and it’s on your policy - cancel it. If No-Fault/PIP is required by your State….take the absolute minimum. Here’s how.

If you must have No-Fault/PIP, ask for and get a deductible from your car insurance company.

STEP 7 - Cancel Medical Coverage

Medical Coverage, on most car insurance policies, is a promise to pay “reasonable” medical expenses for anyone who is riding in your car should you have an accident…as well as anyone in your car should it get hit by someone else.

Cancel it. You don’t need it.

Why is that you say? Well, medical coverage as part of your car insurance policy is a duplicate of your own:

- Medical Plan; - Any Life Insurance Coverage you might have, as well as; - The Liability Sections of almost every car insurance policy written in the U.S.

Think of it this way….Do you have a Health/Medical/Hospitalization Plan thru work or an Association you belong to?

Then why are you paying premiums for Medical/Hospitalization Coverage on your Car Insurance Policy?

Here’s what’s going to happen when you tell the car insurance company or Agent that you “Don’t want the Hospitalization/Medical Coverage.” You’re going to hear very slick “scare tactics” to help change your mind.

The insurance company employee will say “Well, if you’re in an accident, and it’s your fault, who’s going to cover the medical bills for any injured passengers in your car?”

Here’s your answer. Your family is already covered by your Health/Hospitalization Plan. If anybody else is in the car and they’re injured - they’re covered by your Bodily Injury Liability coverage that you’re already paying for….and their own Health/Hospitalization Plan.

So go ahead - save some more money and get rid of this coverage.

STEP 8 - Cancel Death, Dismemberment & Loss of Sight

Do you have any of these coverage’s on your existing car insurance policy? If so - cancel them.

And if you’re a first time car insurance buyer or, just looking at getting several car insurance quotes, don’t let anyone talk you into them!

Why?

Because, these coverage’s are an absolute waste of money. Most of these optional coverage’s are simply “glorified” life insurance policies with ridiculous provisions and horribly overpriced premiums. If you need life insurance, make it a separate Insurance Policy.

STEP 9 - Cancel The Extras

Do you have “Roadside Assistance” or “Rental Car Reimbursement” on your policy? If so, cancel them.

And again, if you’re a first time insurance buyer or getting a few car insurance quotes, don’t bother with these coverage’s.

Why? Because they’re severely overpriced, are rarely ever used, and limit what you can and cannot do.

For instance, some rental car reimbursement” coverage is almost $100 a year for each vehicle on your policy. So if you have two cars, you’ll spend almost $2,000 on rental car coverage in the next 10 years - and likely never even use it.

And roadside assistance? The piece-of-mind it offers gets trampled by the premiums the car insurance companies want for this coverage. Roadside assistance is a good idea. But use AAA for a cheaper solution.

STEP 10 - Terminate Comprehensive & Collision Coverage On Older Cars.

If you have an older car - by that I mean one that’s worth less than $2,000 wholesale (the amount a car dealer would give you if you were trading it in) cancel any Comprehensive and Collision Coverage you have or decline that option when getting a car insurance quote.

Here’s why. If an 8 year-old car and a brand new car have identical damage, the cost to repair both will be identical as well, even though the 8 year-old car is worth next-to-nothing.

You see the cost of a bumper and fender are the same - whether it’s for a brand new car, or one that is 8 years-old. That’s why your premiums don’t go down as the value of the car goes down. Your payments remain almost the same, year-after-year-after-year.

But, the bottom drops-out of what you’ll be able to collect on that older car. For instance, if your car is “totaled”, your insurance company will only pay you the wholesale value of your car.

So, let’s say your car is worth $1,000, but the total damage is more than $4,000, the insurance company is only going to give you a check for $1,000….minus your deductible, of course.

So you might end up getting $500 back. Sounds like a lousy deal….but that’s how it works.

So, the rule-of-thumb is this - cancel your comp & collision coverage when your vehicles value is less than $2,000….or you’ll be throwing your money away.

Okay - you’ve jotted down some notes and are ready to make some changes to your car insurance policy. So pick up the phone and start slashing your premiums!