Investing In Death

[looksgoodinred]

I was reading an article about "life settlements" -- in effect reselling your life insurance policy for some value before you die. An interesting concept. Benefiting from some of your life insurance value before you die, while you can still use it. The new beneficiaries (depending on your life expectancy and illness) getting a potentially much better return on their investment than they could make in the traditional stock market or real estate. (In the example used, a 60% return in exchange for a couple of years of paying premiums on the insured's behalf.) Presumably, if you have a longer life expectancy, your policy is worth less on the market.

 

I'm surprised insurance companies haven't found a way to stop this yet (The industry

[dervish]

I've no dependents so would be very willing to cash in on any benefits.

 

But to me makes perfect sense, would need to be heavily regulated to stop people getting ripped off but I reckon it's a great idea.

[Ke1t]

I was reading an article about "life settlements" -- in effect reselling your life insurance policy for some value before you die. An interesting concept. Benefiting from some of your life insurance value before you die, while you can still use it. The new beneficiaries (depending on your life expectancy and illness) getting a potentially much better return on their investment than they could make in the traditional stock market or real estate. (In the example used, a 60% return in exchange for a couple of years of paying premiums on the insured's behalf.) Presumably, if you have a longer life expectancy, your policy is worth less on the market.

 

I'm surprised insurance companies haven't found a way to stop this yet (The industry

[looksgoodinred]

There needs to be serious regulation on anything that involves the elderly and permanently baffled.

 

Selling your policies at that time of life can put undue burden on your family, and it only takes one visit from a predatory 'salesman' to have the old bastards sign over everything they own to some unscrupulous firm of East European gangsters.

 

Personally I reckon anything involving the elderly and the signing of contracts should be subject to the scrutiny of a lawyer at the company's expense.

 

When I hit my 70s, no-one better come to my door with a 'deal', because I'll set my fucking dogs on them.

 

I'm going to have dogs.

 

but it's not solely about buying policies from the elderly. you could be much younger with an illness, and want the money to spend time with your family/cover medical expenses before you die.

 

the point is it's an investment. free market value for the policy. cash in your hands. investors paid off when you die. assuming no shenanigans to take advantage of anyone (except the insurance companies who were hoping the person would die without potential beneficiaries), with policies paying out between 50-100% on investment (250K for a 500K policy, for instance), is it something you'd consider buying?

[Ke1t]

but it's not solely about buying policies from the elderly. you could be much younger with an illness, and want the money to spend time with your family/cover medical expenses before you die.

 

the point is it's an investment. free market value for the policy. cash in your hands. investors paid off when you die. assuming no shenanigans to take advantage of anyone (except the insurance companies who were hoping the person would die without potential beneficiaries), with policies paying out between 50-100% on investment (250K for a 500K policy, for instance), is it something you'd consider buying?

 

Circumstances would have to conspire against me to persuade me to sell off an insurance policy worth, as per the example, 500k for half its value.

 

If my family were starving then I'd absolutely go ahead and do it.

 

That's one of America's major flaws. Americans are, generally, pretty credulous... you might say gullible people. There's a kind of stupid that is almost unique in the US, where they can be convinced of just ludicrous shit by wrapping it up in an American flag.

 

Health Care for everyone, free... a huge number of Americans don't want it. Because.... Communism.

 

I'm not even shitting you. They think, based on what rich pharmaceutical companies tell them via their bought and paid for politicians, that Free Health Care is the first step on the road to Communism, Gulags and Stalin and the Devil.

 

So you have a situation where the people actually, bizarrely, fight against universal health care, and in fact favour a system where, if you get sick, you could lose your home and your assets. Because... not Communism, you see?

 

So, yeah, this is a potential way to recoup some money rather than losing everything you own and potentially seeing your family on the streets. It's also an extraordinarily sick system that necessitates this kind of action.

 

Would I do it? Sure, if I had no other option... but people shouldn't have to make that choice.

 

The gambling on people's lives... not even close to as sick as a system that bankrupts the sick and puts their families on the street.

[dervish]

 

Fucking commie.

[Ke1t]

Fucking commie.

 

Not according to my immigration papers