Ask the expert: Submitting marginal cases

December 03, 2008 at 07:00 PM
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The question was: I've heard that, due to today's economic strains, some settlement cases may be rejected that previously would have been accepted. Do you recommend that I submit possibly marginal cases anyhow, or should I hold them back?

The answer is: It's always a great idea to submit a case for an offer, marginal or not, regardless of today's (or tomorrow's) economic uncertainty. As they say, one man's trash is another man's treasure.

Each provider (or buyer) in the secondary marketplace looks at each and every case differently. Some may be interested in a case that is exactly like the potential case that the insured or their representative may be considering shopping. However, if they believe all the "industry noise," they may be reluctant to submit their case because they were led to believe there wasn't a market.

While I can't speak for the rest of the marketplace as a whole, I can say that we are a busy now as we have ever been. There is a greater urgency now with respect to the offers that are given to us and subsequently, presented to our relationships with respect to turnaround times.

Maybe people (agents, advisors, and clients alike) are finally realizing it's better to take the proverbial "bird in the hand" rather than to hold out for the "two in the bush"–because a lot of times, that bush with those two birds is never found and that bird that we had in our hand has flown away. It's always better to be safe than to be sorry.

Rob Haynie
Managing Director
Life Insurance Settlements, Inc.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
[email protected]
www.lisettlements.com

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