If you look at this investment on a risk-adjusted basis, it's a very solid return. Insurance companies don't default on life insurance. - Steven Shapiro, Q Capital Strategies

  The life-settlement industry is growing at an annual rate of just under 20%.... What policyholders sometimes don't realize is that a policy is an asset that has market value. For people with universal-life coverage, which combines a death benefit with a savings component, the value of a policy in a life-settlement transaction is generally at least 3 times the underlying cash value of the policy... Selling an unwanted policy increasingly is becoming a financial-management tool for older people who face a cash crunch, who don't want to rely on their children for financial support or who are trying to find the money for costly long-term-care insurance.

  The industry’s annual returns of 10% to 15% first attracted European and Asian investors. And a few years ago, Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., the investment vehicle of billionaire investor Warren Buffett, began buying life settlements...

  If life settlements are good enough for Warren Buffett, shouldn't they be good enough for everyone else?

  ... liquefying this store of illiquid capital is now recognized as a legitimate business opportunity. The biggest beneficiaries, of course, are the policyholders themselves, who suddenly find they're in possession of a valuable asset.

  "Needless to say, seniors are looking for a way to bolster their sagging savings. One of them is the life settlement business, a burgeoning multi-billion dollar industry that has exploded in the recent years. Life settlements can be a worthy alternative for seniors who are considering the sale of their life insurance policy and offer a higher payment than the cash surrender value offered by the insurance company."