Life Settlement Process
This is an article, not to be confused with the Life Settlement Process here at Life Settlement Pro.
ORLANDO, FL, August 21 / MARKET WIRE/ - The Life Insurance Settlement Association published a graphic representation of the life settlement process. “This is our effort to clear up some of the mystery and misinformation surrounding the process so that everyone can work from a common understanding,” says LISA Executive Director, Doug Head.
LISA’s The Voice of the Industry, is a seasonally published industry newsletter for public policy makers and interested parties. This publication, available on the LISA web site, is also offered to LISA Members for use in their work with the public and consumers. “An essential piece of our ongoing effort,” explains Head, “is to achieve a point of common understanding about what a settlement is — and what it is not.”
There is much confusion surrounding the life settlement process. The Voice of the Industry seeks to eliminate the confusion by establishing a common model. “This issue is of the highest importance. It just makes sense to devote an entire issue of the newsletter to thoroughly address the life settlement process,” says Ramiro Rencurrell, LISA President. Head adds, “Fortunately or unfortunately, interested parties such as public policy makers, regulators, and especially the media are frequently confused about life settlement transactions. This confusion benefits no one.”
“Mystification and sensationalism have been used by opponents of the industry to bury issues of relevance and to raise minor issues to prominence — setting up straw men for denunciation, rather than letting the truth come forward. LISA wants a common context for discussion,” Head explains. In the end, LISA believes that many consumers who could benefit from Life Settlements do not understand the concept or process.
“Life settlement industry growth has been remarkable in the last couple of years,” remarks Head, “and recent estimates of industry size are being statistically verified. Consumers recognize, and now demand, the benefit afforded to them through settlements.” Likewise, all industry participants recognize the legitimate business opportunities created by the secondary market for life insurance.
In The Voice of the Industry, Head asks industry and interested parties to use the LISA model and to help refine or develop modifications to it. Head also notes that variations exist, but he argues that the LISA model is a reasonable representation of the reality of the market, with the vectors demonstrating how information, policies, and money move through the process.
Head calls upon commentators to begin to use this common model to describe the life settlement industry as they argue for change. “Otherwise,” he concludes, “observers may continue to describe the settlement process with confusing or inaccurate analogies. It will look much like the Indian fable where seven blind men attempt to describe an elephant — each ’seeing’ a different reality and labeling the overall thing incompletely and inaccurately.”
Established in 1994, the Life Insurance Settlement Association is the oldest and largest trade organization in the industry. Its goal is to promote the development, integrity and reputation of the life settlement industry, and to promote a competitive market for the people it serves. LISA now represents 152 members with a wide variety of interests in the industry. For more about the Association, visit www.lisassociation.org.
Call 1-888-973-8377 to speak with a Life Settlement Professional.
