If you’re feeling confused about where and how to sell a life insurance policy, don’t worry because it doesn’t have to be complicated. You’ll have to do a little bit of research, but you can also check in with your current insurer, who’ll be able to advise you. They should even be able to point you in the right direction for talking to the perfect experts for your situation.
The Process to Sell Life insurance Policy
Knowledge is always the first step to reassure us that something isn’t just an overwhelming black hole. The same is true when you’re thinking about how to sell your life insurance. In that case, review the following points, and you should feel more comfortable with everything to do with life settlements:
- Find the right expert
- Confirm you qualify
- Appraise your policy’s value
- Review your purchase offer
- Complete your transaction
Find the right expert
One of the first steps is to start talking to your insurer about using your insurance policy for cash. Although, you can also talk to a life settlement broker or provider. Don’t forget that there are also companies out there who are unbiased. They exist to give you information and help you through the process. If this all feels like a lot to take in, simply choose 2 or 3 companies and compare what they tell you. You can’t go too wrong, though, because selling your life insurance is under a licensed industry. No matter what happens, your insurer is still part of the process and will help close out the process for you.
Confirm you qualify
Not everyone can sell their universal life insurance policy because you need a certain cash value behind it, amongst other rules. For instance, you need to be 70 years old or older and with a policy payout of at least $200,00. However, there are ways to sell your life insurance policy if you’re around 65. That’s usually when you have serious health issues, though. At this point, the question ‘do I sell my life insurance’ will undoubtedly come up to fund any medical bills. There are some other nice-to-haves, though, in terms of whether you qualify. These are, for example, ideally having a life expectancy of no more than 20 years. At the end of the day, though, your life settlement company will decide whether it’s worth their while to buy your life insurance policy.
Appraise your policy’s value
Before you make any decisions, you should get the details of what you can expect when you sell a life insurance policy. This amount will be more than your cash surrender value but less than your death benefit payout. It also depends on a few factors, including how long you’ve had your policy as well as your premium payments. In addition, your current age and health status all have a part to play. That’s because these impact how much your life insurance policy is worth.
Review your purchase offer
Once you have the details around how much you can expect when you sell your life insurance, then the decision is up to you. If you want to go ahead, your broker or provider will give you the life settlement purchase offer. At this point, you might want to compare with another two or three companies before you make your final decision. Not all life settlement companies offer the same payouts, and nor are they all licensed in every state.
Complete your transaction
Assuming that you’re happy with the purchase offer, then you can sign the relevant documents that lead to a change in ownership of life insurance policies. Your policy passes over to the life settlement company, and you get the money in exchange.
How to Find the Best Life Settlement Company
At this point, you might be wondering how to find a life settlement company. You’ll soon discover several ‘best of’ lists online, but here are a few points to get you started:
- Educate yourself
- Review longevity and license
- Speed of life settlement process
- Policy requirements and typical payouts
Clearly, the more you research how people tend to sell their life insurance than the more comfortable you’ll feel about the whole process involved in selling your policy. Either way, some great companies are unbiased. Their sole aim is to guide people through the whole life settlement process. They’ll introduce you to the right life settlement provider or broker if that feels best for you.
As mentioned, you can check their license details for your particular state in terms of the actual life settlement company itself. Then you can, of course, ask about how long they’ve been in operation and what type of payouts they typically give. That’s a great way to compare the different companies.
Another point to note is that not all life settlement providers follow the same process. Therefore, some will be faster than others to provide you with your payout. Again, simply ask about previous cases and how they approach the whole life settlement process. You’ll then know what feels right for you.
Parting Words on How to Sell Life Insurance Policy
Selling your life insurance policy is a big decision. There’s the very obvious point that you’ll no longer have death benefits. If that’s acceptable to you, then selling your policy can be a great way to help you get extra funds for your retirement or any medical bills you might now be faced with. Either way, the process doesn’t have to be complex, so call the experts, get your valuation and sign your papers. In fact, you can have everything settled in as little as just a few days. So, don’t hold back and get the valuation you need to make the right decision for you.
Featured Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay