get a secondary opinion®
The Ashar Group’s team is widely considered one of the most respected and technically proficient in the industry. You’ll find our approach to the transaction process robust, abiding by all applicable state regulations and privacy requirements, while always protecting the best interest of the policy owner throughout the entire negotiation process. Review the following steps your clients will undergo when selling their policy, then call us at 800-384-8080 to speak to one of our specialists:
Step 1: Pre-screening. During the pre-screening process, basic medical and policy information is analyzed and the potential market value is estimated. If the estimated value meets the clients' expectations, the decision can be made to move forward.
Step 2: Underwriting — no exam required. The insured does not have to go to the doctor. Medical records of the insured are collected from the last five years and a current illustration is obtained. If any new developments are uncovered by underwriting, the case is reevaluated.
Step 3: Policy Pricing. Determine the potential value early and share the analytics to save time for all parties. Additionally your Ashar Secondary Market Specialist facilitates the process to decide which required third party underwriters to use and then completes an analysis to interpret the information to confirm accuracy.
Step 4: Agree on Listing Price. At this point in the process, the Secondary Market Specialist presents the range of offers to the advisor and explains the details and the relative strengths and weaknesses of the buyers including any alternatives.
Step 5: Negotiation And Offer Acceptance. Once the most suitable offer is selected, a Secondary Market Specialist like the Ashar Group negotiates any details. The offer is accepted in writing, bid transparency and contingencies are communicated, and negotiations close.
Step 6: Contract Signed. State approved contracts are issued and the Secondary Market Specialist assists the insured, policy owner and advisor in executing the documents.
Step 7: Settlement Delivered. Once the reviews and due diligence are completed, the lump sum to the policy owner is placed in a 3rd party escrow account, the change of ownership form is submitted to the insurance carrier and the seller receives the funds.
If you are in a position where you think it would be prudent to consider the benefits that the Secondary Market offers, talk to an Ashar Secondary Market Specialist at ashargroup.com.
get a secondary opinion®
As a trusted advisor, have you discussed alternative ways to fund long-term care (LTC) for your clients or their loved ones? With an aging population, the harsh reality is that a majority of Americans will need long-term care, assisted living, or homecare. Many clients in their 50-60’s cannot prepare for their own future as they’re forced to pay for the caregiving needs of their parents. Proactive decisions are pushed off and the cycle repeats itself.
Due to this unintentional, yet highly dangerous lack of planning, many families are unknowingly causing financial and emotional devastation to the multigenerational families for whom they care deeply. It is far to common for a client to call their advisor when they have an immediate long-term care need. At that point it’s typically too late. Failing to plan is planning to fail. At this point, they cannot qualify for long-term care insurance.
So what are the options? Why not try leveraging a Life Settlement to accomplish the goal?
By appraising and monetizing your client’s life insurance policy, you can enable clients to help fund their long-term care expenses and help give them find peace of mind. This frees up liquidity for the entire family which enables them to put the proper financial plan in place therefore allowing them to focus on what’s important, their family. For more information on funding Long Term Care through a Life Settlement, visit us at ashargroup.com.
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.
