Golden Bridge Funding obtains NC Life Settlement Providers License

Golden Bridge Funding, LLC, a New Jersey based and licensed viatical (and life settlement) provider, has recently been awarded a life settlement provider license from the North Carolina Department of Insurance. Golden Bridge is a buyer of life insurance policies for investment, and specializes in small-face policies from $10,000 to $600,000 in face amount. Golden Bridge is managed by Erez Rotem, LUTCF and Alex Sirotkin, JD, professionals in the life settlement industry since 2003. Contact may be made by calling 973.275.1110, or on the web at www.goldenbridgefunding.com.

Do Life Insurance Agents have a responsibility to discuss the life settlement option with their clients?

What is an agents responsibility to his client?

According to this article - http://www.pearsonitcertification.com/articles/article.aspx?p=415191

"By definition, a fiduciary is a person in a position of financial trust. Thus, attorneys, accountants, trust officers, and insurance agents are all considered fiduciaries.

As a fiduciary, the agent has an obligation to act in the best interest of the insured. The agent must be knowledgeable about the features and provisions of various insurance policies and the use of these insurance contracts. The agent must be able to explain the important features of these policies to the insured. The agent must recognize the importance of dealing with the general public's financial needs and problems and offer solutions to these problems through the purchase of insurance products."



From this description it sounds like insurance agents have a fiduciary responsibility to explore the life settlement option for their clients.
So why aren't more agents discussing life settlements?
Why aren't agents mandated by law  to explore the life settlement option for anyone lapsing their policy or any one who has the ability to convert their life insurance policy but chooses not to?
Isn't a life settlements in the best interest of these clients?
Isn't it better for the clients to recover some of the money they've poured in as premiums over the years than to get nothing at all?

At least one state will look at this in the near future.
Here is a blurb from LISA (LIFE INSURANCE SETTLEMENT ASSOCIATIONhttp://www.lisa.org/ )

California Couple Sues Lincoln National   The court battle continues on in California, where a couple has filed a lawsuit against Lincoln National Life Insurance Co., alleging that had their insurance agent told them about the life settlement option they may not have reduced coverage on their policy, of which the premiums were becoming too expensive. One of the key arguments in the case is whether or not agents have a fiduciary duty to their client – of which Lincoln National believes they do not. While California law does not require consumers be told about alternatives to the lapse or surrender of a policy (something LISA has advocated for), this case further illustrates the need for states to consider such legislation that would allow consumers to be told about all of the options available to them when considering lapse or surrender of their life insurance policy.

How much will I get if I sell my life insurance policy ?

Whenever I discuss a new case without fail the question comes up "How much can I get?"
The interesting thing  is that even agents who have completed dozens of life settlement transactions  ask the question knowing that whatever I tell them can be off by 300000%.
So why is it so hard to determine the value of a life insurance policy when having those initial conversations?
Well, I don't have all the relevant information.
Can a Dr. diagnose your ailment when you tell them you have a cough?
No, they need to probe further.

So what is the relevant information to determine the value of a life insurance policy?
The two most important factors are the premiums and life expectancy.
There are other relevant factors like maturity age, carrier rating, etc..
But for this discussion we will focus on the two primary factors.

How do you determine how much premium will be needed?
Generally you request an illustration from an insurance carrier demonstrating the premiums going out to maturity.
If you're lucky the carrier will provide a breakdown of the cost of insurance and fees on the illustration.
(Life settlement funds generally pay the minimum premiums to keep the policy in force)
If you're not so lucky you generally use a formula or use software that will help you determine the cost of insurance.
Milliman's MAPS (Model Actuarial Pricing Systems) is an example of commonly used software in this industry - http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/maps-releases-newest-life-settlement-model-131516053.html.

Great you now have part one of the formula.

The other thing we look at is life expectancy.
How is life expectancy determined in our business?
Generally we  look at the medical records to provide us the answer.
That means that we don't require the insured to take any examinations.
We take those medical records and submit them to medical actuaries who spit back a report.
The report discusses the findings in the medical records and provides an estimated life expectancy.

Now that we have the relevant data how do we figure out the price?
In simple terms, the buyer is looking for a certain annualized return based.
If you know what that annualized return is and you plug in the life expectancy and the premiums into a IRR (internal rate of return) model you can arrive at your purchase price.

Obviously you can use a more sophisticated model but in a nutshell that's all there is to it.

Can Life Insurance Affect Your Medicaid Eligibility?

I wanted to share this great article I found on elder law (answershttp://www.elderlawanswers.com/can-life-insurance-affect-your-medicaid-eligibility-12421)

 

Can Life Insurance Affect Your Medicaid Eligibility?

In order to qualify for Medicaid, you can't have more than $2,000 in assets (in most states). Many people forget about life insurance when calculating their assets, but depending on the type of life insurance and the value of the policy, it can count as an asset.
Life insurance policies are usually either "term" life insurance or "whole" life insurance. If a Medicaid applicant has term life insurance, it doesn’t count as an asset and won't affect Medicaid eligibility because this form of life insurance does not have an accumulated cash value. On the other hand, whole life insurance accumulates a cash value that the owner can access, so it can be counted as an asset.
That said, Medicaid law exempts small whole life insurance policies from the calculation of assets. If the policy's face value is less than $1,500, then it won't count as an asset for Medicaid eligibility purposes. However, if the policy’s face value is more than $1,500, the cash surrender value becomes an available asset.
For example, suppose a Medicaid applicant has a whole life insurance policy with a $1,500 death benefit and a $700 cash surrender value (the amount you would get if you cash in the policy before death). The policy is exempt and won't be used to determine the applicant's eligibility for Medicaid. However, if the death benefit is $1,750 and the cash value is $700, the cash surrender value will be counted toward the $2,000 asset limit.
If you have a life insurance policy that may disqualify you from Medicaid, you have a few options:

• Surrender the policy and spend down the cash value.
• Transfer ownership of the policy to your spouse or to a special needs trust. If you transfer the policy to your spouse, the cash value would then be part of the spouse's community resource allowance.
• Transfer ownership of the policy to a funeral home. The policy can be used to pay for your funeral expenses, which is an exempt asset.
• Take out a loan on the cash value. This reduces the cash value and the death benefit, but keeps the policy in place.

Before taking any actions with a life insurance policy, you should talk to your attorney to find out what is the best strategy for you.

Article Last Modified: 11/14/2013

 

 

 

I have 2 weeks to convert my policy. Can I still do a life settlement?

If I had a nickel for every time I was asked if someone could sell their life insurance policy when they only had a few days left to convert I wouldn't be a very rich man.
But I might have a Hamilton in my pocket (As in Alexander Hamilton; that's a $10 bill -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBSuwa8mf9o great video about Hamilton).

First a brief background on what it means to convert.

The most common type of life insurance people are sold is term life insurance.
From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Term_life_insurance)
Term life insurance or term assurance is life insurance which provides coverage at a fixed rate of payments for a limited period of time, the relevant term. After that period expires, coverage at the previous rate of premiums is no longer guaranteed and the client must either forgo coverage or potentially obtain further coverage with different payments or conditions.
Sometimes, policy owners  also have the option to convert their term life insurance policy into a permanent policy without any additional underwriting (meaning no new medical exam is needed).

The conversion option differs between life insurance carriers.
Some allow you to convert up until the 5th year while others let you convert until the insured reaches age 65 or 70.
The conversion option is fantastic for those who still need life insurance but have had a significant change of health.
Why? Because they don't need to go through underwriting again.
BUT it is also a fantastic opportunity - for those who cant afford it anymore or do not need the insurance - to possibly do a life settlement and recognize a windfall of money.
The money could be used for anything they like.
It could help pay for a stay at a nice nursing home, pay for the grandkids college education, or a trip to Disney World.

So why don't more people do it?
Well that's a good question.
I believe part of the reason is that people have never heard about the life settlement option.
SO SPREAD THE WORD.
Every insurance agent should be recommending this to their older clients that still have the option to convert but that choose not to.
In my mind this should be mandated by every State Insurance Department.


Why do people wait for the last second?
Another good question.
I think people are scared of what they don't know.
But Ill tell you what - when they get the money from the life settlement they're pretty happy they followed through.

What's the problem with waiting to the last second?
There is no problem if you can afford to pay the conversion premium and convert the policy yourself.
Often time the problem is that people don't have the money or don't want to pay to convert it themselves.
They are hoping that a life settlement fund will buy the policy and will pay the conversion premium.
However the funds buying these policies aren't very comfortable laying out money on policies they don't own.
They would rather buy the policy with plenty of time left to do the conversion; but they prefer to buy policies that have already been converted.



Whats the Golden Bridge Funding Difference (www.goldenbridgefunding.com)?
Great question.
Golden Bridge is different from other funds.
We're nimble.
We make quick (not hasty) decisions.
We can be creative when providing solutions for  people facing this situation

Call us because we can help when you're stuck!

www.GOLDENBRIDGEFUNDING.com

How the life settlement market is an option for seniors

There is little doubt that retirement resources may be strained for most seniors. Personal property like a life insurance policy may not be viewed as a cash asset by a retiree. However, it could be a backstop or cash reserve to supplement shortfalls in retirement income. Currently the inventory of life insurance policies is low, and the demand in the life settlement is high. Reviewing in-force life insurance policies may generate the income seniors are looking for. Life settlement experts Erez Rotem and Alex Sirotkin of Integrity Life Solutions, LLC, are interviewed by Steve Savant, syndicated financial columnist and talk show host, on this episode of "Let's Get Down to Business."

Saving the Medicaid system one life insurance policy at a time

Here is an article written by my partner, Alex Sirotkin, and co-authored with Steve Savant of Ash Brokerage Corp.

 

 

Saving the Medicaid system one life insurance policy at a time

By Steve Savant

Ash Brokerage Corporation

Co-written by Alex Sirotkin

Recall the old adage, “If you want something done right, do it yourself"?

What can we expect from our government? Judging from the polls, most would say "not much." It is amazing that with our nation’s budgetary problems, and the pending bankruptcy of programs designed for seniors — Medicare and Social Security — politicians are more concerned about mid-term elections. So, in the meantime, nothing gets done. Nothing.

But did you know that Medicaid has surpassed Medicare as the nation’s largest health care program? It is the fastest growing part of most state budgets and funds nearly two-thirds of all nursing home residents. Medicaid has become a runaway train of an entitlement. So how, you ask, can you personally help to at least slow down this train’s increasing need for fuel (funding)?

Well, here is a modest answer; but again, as mom says, “Every little bit helps.” Did you know that permanent life insurance policies are counted as an asset for Medicaid purposes and that they must be “spent down” prior to qualification?

Practically speaking, what happens? Often, the policy gets cashed out for the cash surrender value (CSV) from the life insurance carrier; or worse, the policy is lapsed if no CSV. But what most elder care professionals and seniors themselves do not know is that there is a legal option to sell that same policy for an amount greater than the CSV. This concept even applies to term policies, which, by design, have no CSV. This is a financial option — not an imperative — and it costs nothing for someone to have the value of one’s life insurance policy determined by a licensed entity. Again, it costs nothing to find out the market value of the policy.

Let’s say Edith, who is a private-pay patient in a senior facility, is running out of funds. Her POA comes to an elder care attorney (or Medicaid consultant) to find out what she needs to do to qualify for Medicaid quickly. Likely, no planning has been done and the matter has become urgent.

She has a $50,000 permanent life policy with a CSV of $15,000. This policy is an asset and must be spent down before she can qualify. Sure, she can cash the policy in for the $15,000, but that would be a worst-case scenario. A suggestion is made that perhaps the POA should consider a sale of the policy instead, as it will cost nothing for a valuation. Based upon Edith’s health and the cost of premiums going forward, the POA gets a bona fide offer from a licensed buyer for $30,000, or double the CSV. The consultant/attorney suggests that part of the funds be used to pre-pay for a funeral, and the balance be paid to the facility to extend Edith’s private pay care. The idea of an investment fund buying Edith’s policy by paying her cash today and benefiting at the time of her death is off-putting and even macabre to some. In actual fact, however, Edith is making use of the present market value of her policy today, when she needs the money most. She needs the money now, and she must dispose of the policy in any event to become Medicaid compliant. In this case, she is maximizing the return on her asset by selling, rather than surrendering. Edith is acting like a sophisticated capitalist, and the transaction is a proverbial “win-win."

Are there any losers at all in this transaction? Under this scenario, where the policy is purchased and kept in force, it is now likely that the insurance carrier will have to pay out a death benefit after all. It is the carrier that loses its opportunity to terminate its obligation to pay the death benefit later, by paying the CSV today. Arguably, had the carrier paid the CSV, it would have merely paid Edith the money that she saved over the years within the policy structure. In any event, the carrier is the likely loser in this situation.

But some say that Edith won’t care about maximizing her return. She just wants to get onto Medicaid. Regardless, her senior care facility will benefit from additional private pay funds. Likewise, Edith’s qualification for Medicaid will be somewhat delayed, and the mounting costs of Medicaid will have been reigned in, or forestalled, if only a little. When you see that a client has a life insurance policy, if appropriate, ask her if she is aware of the option to sell that policy. You may not be saving the entire Medicaid system, but again, as mom says, every little bit helps.

DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN SELL YOUR LIFE INSURANCE POLICY?

 

 

 

DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN SELL YOUR

LIFE INSURANCE POLICY FOR MORE

THAN THE CASH SURRENDER VALUE?

Yes, you may qualify to sell your life insurance

policy for more than what you would get for

surrendering it back to the life insurance company

and, possibly, for a lot more than you’d expect.

New Jersey based GOLDEN BRIDGE FUNDING is a

LICENSED DIRECT BUYER of life insurance policies.

Selling your life insurance policy is a sound

financial option to consider when finding ways

to supplement much needed cash for medical

bills, life care, assisted living or other expenses

associated with aging.

Don’t throw away all the payments you’ve made

on your life insurance policy over the years.

Before you allow your policy to lapse or think

of surrendering your life insurance policy, call

Golden Bridge Funding today for a

NO FEE / NO STRINGS valuation.

You owe it to yourself to explore this option and

find out if it makes sense for you.

Give us a call today! (973) 275-1110

www.Goldenbridgefunding.com

NJ Dept. Banking and Insurance - Viatical Settwww.Goldenbridgefunding.comlement Provider License 10.07.13

Golden Bridge Funding LLC www.goldenbridgefunding.com

I forgot to mention
www.goldenbridgefunding.com
is our life settlement provider.
We are licensed as a life settlement provider in New Jersey and Maryland.
If you have a policy that you would like us to evaluate please contact us through the website
www.goldenbridgefunding.com
or call us at 973-275-1110.

There is no fee and no obligation.


We are focused on purchasing small face policies.
We will go as low as $10,000 in death benefit.

Please call us to find out more.

I'm 54 years old. Can I sell my life insurance policy?

I often get inbound calls from people asking if they can sell their life insurance policy.
As a sales person your'e probably thinking "Wow that's awesome.  I wish somebody would call me".
Well its not so awesome.
For some reason the people calling in always seem to be in their 50's and 60's.
I think the general public doesn't understand what the life settlement market is looking for.

http://insurancestudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/ISI_2009_Consumers_Guide_to_LS_full1.pdf
Here's a good piece for some general information
.
I don't blame the public for not understanding.
It's not something they think about everyday.
Typically the life settlement market works for people in their late 70's and older or people who have life threatening medical conditions.
These people tend to have shorter and more certain life expectancies than say a 50 year old would have.
Generally a fund that buys life settlements is looking to make a double digit return for their investors.
and they are looking to make it quickly (or as quickly as possible).
The investors of the funds don't want to wait 15 years to make these returns so that requires the fund to look for people who have shorter life expectancies.
Rarely,  the investor is willing to wait 10 years to get his return but they still want their double digit return.
When you look at the compounding effect of money over time you can see that at 10 years or longer it becomes harder for the fund to generate those double digit returns for the investor.

(Article on the Effect of Compounding -http://www.investopedia.com/walkthrough/corporate-finance/3/discounted-cash-flow/compounding.aspx)

Therefore the market is looking for people who are older and/or have serious medical issues.

Heres a video I did explaining what the market is looking for

http://youtu.be/jVhfPnS75-U


Please feel free to share this and
let your older friends know that before they think about lapsing their policies they should look at the life settlement option.

When is Life Settlement Awareness month?

Do you mean to tell me that you didn't know there's a  life settlement awareness month?
Surely you've heard of Life Insurance Awareness Month, Disability Insurance Awareness Month, and even Long Term Care Insurance Awareness Month?
Well guess what?
There is a reason you've never heard of it.
It doesn't exist.
There is no Life Settlement Awareness Month.

But shouldn't there be?


(Great article -http://www.lifehealthpro.com/2012/04/11/life-settlements-transition-to-financial-planning?page=2)

Life settlements have become an important strategic tool in financial planning
Life settlements have become a solution for changing planning priorities or a need for liquidity.
The life settlement solution address' some of our biggest financial concerns:

Do I have enough saved?

Will I be able to live the life I imagine?

Do I feel confident about what's ahead

Isn't that just as important as what life insurance, disability insurance and long term care provides us?

In fact isn't a Life Settlement Awareness month even more important since so few people know about this option.

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Also which month do you think would best represent Life Settlement Awareness Month?
 

Should Donald Sterling sell his life insurance?

Donald Sterling, the American business magnate and owner of the NBA's L.A. Clippers has recently been in the news alot.  It hasn't been good news from his perspective.  He was recently issued a life time ban from the NBA for racist comments he made while being recorded by his mistress.

Although this is not the question on everyone's mind I was wondering if Mr. Sterling should sell his life insurance policy in a life settlement transaction?

The answer I came up with is Maybe.

I am not aware of Donald's personal financial situation but I do know that a life settlement should be a component of his retirement and financial planning. 
In fact, it should be part of everyone's financial plan.
Here are some key questions Mr. Sterling should ask his advisors while reviewing his over all financial plan:
1. What is a life settlement?
2. Do I need my life insurance?
3. Are there consequences to my financial situation if I am involved in a  life settlement transaction?
4. What are the downsides?
5. What are my other options?
6. Is it suitable for me?

Are there questions that I missed?

Please write in and let me know.

Its 2014, and still no one has heard of life settlements!

Everyone knows what a life settlement is, right? It's the sale of a life insurance policy to a third party.

It's right there on Wikipedia! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_settlement) It's probably been there since Wikipedia started in 2004.

Well, I have a bombshell for you. Are you sitting down?

It's 2014, and still most people have never heard of a life settlement.
I just did my 1,000th seminar, and still, very few people have heard of life settlements. Those who told me they had heard about it before heard it from me.
And sure, those same 100 agents who get solicited everyday by life settlement brokers have heard about it.

I  was even interviewed about the subject.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSoundXg-Oo

One would think, with the economy the way it is and Medicaid in shambles, that I would have had a million views on youtube.
You would be wrong!

Very few people know what a life settlement is all about.

What are we doing wrong as an industry that life settlements aren't as well known as reverse mortgages?

What can I do better to get the word out?

I would really like to hear from people. Really, I mean that! Please share your thoughts.

And spread the word about life settlements.

Why the Rhinebeck Fund is unique | Life Settlement

The Rhinebeck Fund target market is as low as $10,000 of face amount and caps off around $1 million. One of its unique propositions, compared to the rest of the life settlement market, is its turnaround time, which often is half the industry average. Life settlement experts Erez Rotem and Alex Sirotkin of Integrity Life Solutions, LLC, are interviewed by Steve Savant, syndicated financial columnist and talk show host, on this episode of "Let's Get Down to Business."