Life Settlement News

State insurance regulators Monday voted in favor of a proposal that would allow carriers to terminate an annuity living or death benefit if a client sold the contract over the secondary market.

Oklahoma State University’s athletic fund and Lincoln National Life Insurance Co. are embroiled in a legal flap over a failed charitable-insurance-funding plan.

Today, Russel Dorsett, President of the Life Insurance Settlement Association (LISA), released the following statement:

Responding to the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) policy statement that the securitizations of life insurance settlements should be prohibited by legislation and regulation, Jack Kelly of the Institutional Life Markets Association (ILMA) said “once again ACLI has chosen to mix apples and oranges when condemning the life settlement market. The recent policy statement issued by ACLI concerning securitization of life settlements is misplaced and incorrect.”

A new association has formed to transfer longevity and mortality-related risk to the capital markets in the same way that some of the world’s biggest perils, such as hurricanes and earthquakes, are protected against by shifting the risk to investors via catastrophe bonds.

Life settlement packagers target B-Ds. But private placements of policy-backed securities raise concerns among independent broker-dealers. For the first time they can recall, several independent broker-dealers have been solicited by life settlement companies to sell private placements of securities based on life insurance policies.

The Life Insurance Settlement Association (LISA) has announced that the European Life Settlement Association (ELSA) has been named as an Honorary Member of the association, joining fellow European association BVZL as the second entity to receive the exclusive distinction.  Speaking to the appointment, LISA Executive Director Doug Head explained, “this move further strengthens our relationship with ELSA.  As the settlement market continues to grow and more capital flows from Europe, this relationship will be invaluable to both American and European interests.”

Life Partners Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ GS: LPHI), a leader in the life settlements industry, announced today that it has been advised by Eide Bailly LLP that the firm has resigned as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm effective January 13, 2010.

The death of financier Danny Pang, who was found dead in September while facing U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges of running a massive Ponzi scheme, has been ruled a suicide, coroner’s officials said on Monday.

In anticipation of the first-ever cross continental life settlement trade mission, event coordinators have released a complete and detailed agenda for public access. The 2010 Life Settlement Trade Mission (February 23-26) is a mutual effort by the two leading trade groups for their respective continents: in North America, the Life Insurance Settlement Association (LISA) and in Europe, the European Life Settlement Association (ELSA). The stated objective of the Trade Mission is to establish “a new standard for accuracy of information and a realistic presentation of the challenges and opportunities in the life settlement marketplace.”