get a secondary opinion®
They are both transferrable and that’s where the opportunity begins. If you no longer needed your home, you would sell it on the open market for its fair market value to a qualified buyer. It’s the same with Life Insurance and Annuities. We call this exchange the Secondary Market.
Like real estate, this regulated Secondary Market has generated a competitive bidding structure for institutional buyers to purchase policies from policy owners, generating immediate liquidity that can be used for retirement and healthcare needs.
Today, an informed consumer now understands that selling a policy for its fair market value may be a viable alternative if the situation is appropriate. Your client would never hand their house back to the bank or the original developer at an amount less than what they’d receive on the open market. The same applies to appraising and selling their life insurance policy. If you are in a position where you think your client can benefit from appraising their policy to uncover its Secondary Market Value, talk to a licensed advocate such as Ashar Group. You can also go to https://ashargroup.com/policy-value-questionnaire/ to take a short quiz to help you determine if a policy may qualify for an amount higher than the cash surrender value.
Prior to the emergence of the Secondary Market, advisors had few options to offer clients when they were deciding whether to surrender or lapse a policy. Fortunately, the Ashar Group offers advisors a free online tool called the Policy Value Quiz. It is designed to help you determine in a timely manner if your client’s policy could qualify for a Secondary Market solution. This can be a terrific way to ensure that your client is not “leaving money on the table,” prior to surrendering or lapsing a life insurance policy for it’s cash surrender value. It can position you as the innovative advisor that assisted the client in generating short-term liquidity to fund lifestyle and healthcare needs.
Once you’ve qualified a policy and want to learn more, you can partner with Ashar Group as your Secondary Market resource to learn more about how to serve your clients, discuss this life-changing solution with your professional network that can impact your bottom line in a positive way. Ashar has developed a proprietary tool, our Advisor Resource Center. Here you’ll find valuable tools and case studies for reference. It also includes training videos that will guide you through the process and help you better understand the life settlement market. Learn the answers to many of the complex questions that could come up in your discussions. It all starts with education and training, to provide you the support you need to uncover new opportunities for your clients and business.
If you have any questions about these resources that need further clarification, please email us at ashargroup.com or call us at 800.384.8080. We’re here to help.
get a secondary opinion®
The majority of Americans do not realize that they have a legal right to appraise and sell their life insurance policy, as well as certain types of annuities in the regulated Secondary Market for Life Insurance for an amount higher than the cash surrender value, but less than the death benefit. The Secondary Market is projected in the September 2014 Conning Report to be valued at $180 billion annually over the next ten years. With one-third of the population moving into this demographic, the impact to retirement, long-term care, and multi-generational planning has never been more important. It has grown exponentially over the past 10 years, generating billions to consumers over the cash surrender value of their policies. These policies can often have considerably more value in the Secondary Market at the time of lapse or surrender than the insurance carrier will provide.
So what’s driving capital to this space? The theme of “socially responsible or sustainable investing” is becoming more valued and politically correct every year. There has been an increase in domestic and global institutions that have become active in purchasing these highly rated insurance carrier products as a means to diversify their investment strategies and assist seniors in funding their caregiving and lifestyle requirements. It’s a win for all parties.
Can you imagine surrendering a life insurance policy for $5,000 that had a fair market value of $205,000? It happens every day. There’ s a market for both small face and jumbo policies. Is there liability with those advisors that fail to disclose this option to their clients? Time will tell on a larger scale; however there are court cases today that are actively pursuing that answer.
The Ashar Group serves as a strategic partner and specialist in the Secondary Market for Life Insurance settlements. For more information, please visit www.ashargroup.com.
https://ashargroup.com/policy-value-questionnaire/ to take the first steps in determining if a policy may qualify for a life settlement.
There are many situations where a policy owner, especially those focused on retirement, may wish to appraise and sell their life insurance policy for a cash settlement to fund lifestyle and caregiving needs. The most common occurs when the consumer makes a decision to stop paying the premiums on the policy and turns toward their advisors to consider all viable options. Many times these retirees or their adult-children, that are acting as caregivers, are searching for ways to pay for living expenses and medical needs. Their objective is to make an informed decision, maintain dignity throughout their retirement years, and reduce increasing debt for themselves or their loved ones throughout the process. Another reason may include that the policyholder owns multiple life insurance policies and wishes to eliminate one to generate immediate funds to pay the premiums for the remaining policies.
For example, a 74-year-old business owner was retiring and no longer wanted to fund the premiums for a $500K Term policy or a $750K Universal Life contract. They were able to sell the Term policy for $150K and use those proceeds to maintain the remaining $750K policy.
Prior to the emergence of the Secondary Market, policy owners didn’t have this option available to them when surrendering or letting their policy lapse. While traditional exit-strategies can be appropriate choices in certain circumstances, the potential for a policy to be sold for its fair market value on the Secondary Market can generate immediate cash flow, making it an attractive alternative for advisors and their clients.
If your client is in a position where you think it would be prudent to consider alternatives, talk to a secondary market specialist. You can also visit https://ashargroup.com/policy-value-questionnaire/ to take the first steps in determining if a policy may qualify for a life settlement.
get a secondary opinion®
Consumers are googling about life settlements and it’s up to you as an advisor to source, review and facilitate life settlement process and related financial solutions for your clients. And when you discover one, it’s your opportunity to protect or enhance a relationship, serve with distinction and expand the value of your services. That’s why top advisors order an SMV®, Secondary Market Valuation, to determine the fair market value of their client’s life insurance periodically. Many feel it’s simply good practice when the situation is appropriate.
An Ashar secondary market specialist can work with you and provide insights that will enhance the client-advisor relationship. Together we may be able to leverage the policy so the client has the option to either sell the policy for a significant lump sum, or possibly retain some coverage with no future premium payments. Because of the expertise a secondary market specialist can offer, and the monetary options available through life settlements, the secondary market is becoming an attractive alternative to fund retirement needs for many senior policy owners.
At ashargroup.com, you’ll find many examples about who qualifies and stands to gain from a Secondary Market Valuation, SMV®. A client’s insurance policy is an asset and we are here to work with you to know what it’s worth.
Within the Secondary Market, powerful options exist for seniors to leverage underutilized assets for immediate liquidity in the event of a lifestyle need, caregiving support or pressing financial burden. Life settlements can provide a welcome alternative for seniors who may otherwise abandon their life insurance policies and get nothing in return. With an SMV®, Secondary Market Valuation, advisors may uncover hidden value that can create an opportunity for seniors to sell their insurance policy for a lump sum, creating immediate liquidity for retirement and long term care needs.
As advisors, we all want to serve our clients as best as we can. That’s why the Ashar Group has invested the time to develop free advisor tools like the Policy Value Quiz and the Advisor Resource Center. At the Advisor Resource Center, you’ll find downloadable training videos and other resources to help you determine if a secondary market solution would benefit your client.
We want to make it easy for advisors to learn about the Secondary Market, so you can help your clients make the best decisions, protect their independence and preserve their dignity. By doing your due diligence in analyzing Secondary Market options, you have the opportunity to protect or enhance a relationship, serve with distinction and expand the value of your services. We invite you to learn more atashargroup.com.
There’s no better advocate in helping clients meet their long-term financial goals than their advisor. With this in mind, there are many cases where an uninformed client surrenders or lapses a policy that was worth much more than the cash value. That’s why many advisors choose to order an Ashar Secondary Market Valuation (SMV®) to check for hidden value thereby opening up new options for their client.
For example, a 73 year-old male who was a key executive was retiring from his company. He had a $5,000,000 Term policy that he was going to lapse for $0 that had the option to be converted to a Universal Life policy. The advisor ordered an SMV® and discovered that his client’s policy was worth $1,200,000. This “found money” was included in his retirement package and the company didn’t have to take money out of cash flow for his retirement package. Not a bad way to end a distinguished career and a great reputation enhancer for the advisor.
The point is, by doing your due diligence in analyzing the Secondary Market Value, you have the opportunity enhance a relationship and ensure you’ve done the very best to help your client to fund their lifestyle needs. You can also go tohttps://ashargroup.com/policy-value-questionnaire/ to take the first steps in determining if a policy may qualify for a life settlement. It only takes a minute, and it could help uncover significant value that could be a game changer for your client.
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It’s not unusual to hear about a policyholder who abandons or cashes in their life insurance policy without first checking for its fair market value.. If they had appraised their policy, many would have found out that it could have been worth far more in the Secondary Market than what they received by simply letting the policy lapse or cashing it in with the insurance carrier that issued the policy.
Those familiar with the Secondary Market know that obtaining the best value for a life insurance policy doesn’t always come from the issuing company, and having a Secondary Market Valuation, SMV®, not only provides up to date information about what the policy is worth, it also can mitigate liability for trustees and fiduciaries that might have unknowingly surrendered or lapsed policies for minimal value.
The results can be life-changing and provide liquidity for retirement, caregiving, and lifestyle needs.
So what must an advisor and client do to ensure the best possible outcome? First, evaluate all options available to the client, including a life settlement. Next, work with a firm such as Ashar that is licensed to advocate on your client’s behalf. Their responsibility is to analyze the client’s probability of receiving an offer for their policy in the Life Settlement Secondary Market and guide the client and advisory team efficiently through the process, while minimizing potential pitfalls. A licensed broker, such as Ashar, is aligned with the client’s interests and will negotiate with their established institutional funding relationships to secure the best offer possible for your client’s policy. The goal is to facilitate a formal negotiation between institutional buyers and obtain multiple offers through this competitive bidding process.
By following these steps, you’re helping to ensure that your client is being dutifully represented, while you protect your reputation and limit liability. If you have any questions about the Secondary Market, please call us at 800-384-8080.
The Secondary Market for Life Insurance is a global market with a variety of institutional investors. It is comprised of private equity, pension funds, reinsurers and global banks. In a life-settlement transaction, a policyholder sells an existing policy for an amount higher than the cash surrender value, but less than the death benefit. The new owner pays the premiums and collects the death benefit when the insured passes. This is a win-win for both parties. Similar to a structured settlement or lottery buyout, the consumer receives a lump sum today and the institutional investor, such as the pension plan, can meet their future obligations.
Due to the complexities of the transaction, it is imperative to secure the services of an experienced and knowledgeable licensed broker to facilitate the case design, negotiation and closing process.
If you are considering valuing your policy, talk to a secondary market advisor such as Ashar Group who can guide you through the process. You can also go to https://ashargroup.com/policy-value-questionnaire/ to help you determine if your policy may qualify for a life settlement.
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Does your insurance policy qualify for a Secondary Market Solution?
Take our policy value quiz and find out. [TAKE THE QUIZ]
The Secondary Market has become a safe and regulated environment for policy owners to liquidate insurance policies that are no longer necessary due to changes in estate tax law.
Many people are looking for new ways to enhance their current financial plan, and one new alternative is the Term Transformer.
This unique opportunity offers an alternative for your clients who have a convertible Term Life Policy that is about to be surrendered or lapse. The Term Transformer is designed as a simple and effective way to convert a term policy into a cash settlement.
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