The economic downturn has forced seniors that once could rely on selling a home and investment income to pay for the costs of senior housing and care to look for new sources of funding. One funding tool that is rapidly gaining attention is selling an existing life insurance policy in the Life Settlement market. A Life Insurance Settlement is the sale of an existing life insurance policy, while the policy holder is still alive, in a straightforward process that takes 30-90 days. The seller of the policy will receive a lump sum payment for their policy and will no longer be responsible for paying the monthly premiums.

A life insurance policy is an asset that the owner can sell just like they would with any other form of personal property such as a home or stocks. And just like selling a home, there are no restrictions or limitations on how much can be raised or what the owner can do with their money. For people looking to raise money to cover the costs of senior housing and care this makes the Life Insurance Settlement an ideal funding option. According to a recent Wall Street Journal story about the growth of the Life Settlement market, there was over $13 billion in Life Settlement transactions done for seniors last year.

The Insurance Studies Institute of America recently issued a study and projects that there will be over $31 billion of Life Settlement transactions annually within the next ten years. Most of this growth will be driven by Baby Boomers looking for sources of liquidity to fund retirement, senior housing and long term care. For seniors and families that are being impacted by the economic crisis and its impact on home and investment values; being able to tap into a secure and guaranteed asset such as a life insurance policy to quickly raise money when they need it most becomes an important financial tool that is easily accessed.