By: Trevor Thomas

The Wisconsin Senate Tuesday unanimously passed a bill requiring life insurance policies to be in force at least 5 years before consumers can sell the policies through a settlement. The bill, S.B. 513, would change an older law that has permitted consumers to sell policies after holding the policies for 2 years.

Commentary by Life Policy Group:

Evidence that consumer choice is restricted again because the regulators and the life offices will not properly monitor the applications for life insurance and act accordingly.

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By: State Sen. John Lehman Racine

Years ago there was a popular television game show called “You Bet Your Life.” Today, unscrupulous scam artists are playing an updated version with a financial scheme targeting seniors, the severely ill and investors using “stranger-originated life insurance.” But instead of fabulous prizes and vacations, victims are left with parting gifts like unexpected tax liabilities, legal bills and problems purchasing life insurance.

The scam is based on “viatical” life insurance transactions. Created to help gravely ill individuals, these agreements allow people to cash in their life insurance policies before the date of maturity and use the funds to cover medical bills or health insurance costs.

Commentary by Life Policy Group:

The sooner all states outlaw STOLI the better it will be for all.

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By: Bill Weir and Jake Whitman

Fresh off the meltdown of the mortgage business last year, Wall Street’s bankers have found a new way to make money: the buying and selling of life insurance policies belonging to the sick and elderly.

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Commentary by Life Policy:

This article tries to portray the market as being the banker’s new scam, however it does explain why even the highly educated professional may need the market.

By: Mike Allen

Just as stocks, bonds and real estate have markets where the assets are readily bought and sold, there’s a market for life insurance policies, and some brokers are finding it fairly lucrative.

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By: Susan Todd

Many older Americans, who are strapped for cash and as anxious as the rest of us, are selling an unlikely asset: their life insurance policies.

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By: Jenny Anderson

Wall Street bankers plan to buy life insurance policies that ill and elderly people sell for cash and package hundreds or thousands of them together into bonds.

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By: Jill Boynton

When times are tough people often look to the cash value in their life insurance policies as a source of cash. In addition to borrowing the cash value, one strategy that is sometimes recommended is to sell your life insurance policy to a third party. You would get more than the cash value but not as much as the death benefit.

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