WASHINGTON BUREAU — A top life settlement industry official this week said that despite current opposition from some underwriters, he believes the life settlement business will soon become an integral part of the life insurance industry.
Calling integration of the life settlement business into the life industry "Act III," Alan Buerger, co-founder and chief executive officer of Coventry First L.L.C., Fort Washington, Pa., said, "We are about there; that is self-evident.
"Carriers will invest in the business," Buerger said. "Carriers will learn about our industry; we are already working with carriers who are investing in one way or another or participating in the industry."
Buerger said the life insurance industry will see longevity insurance "where people in our industry will participate in, along with the carriers, and help the carriers design the new products."
The shift is being generated, he said, by the fact that people are living longer. "There is a real concern about people living too long and outliving their ability to maintain their needs in their retirement," he said. "So Act III will be very vibrant; we will see the industry coming alive. We have a great, great future."
Buerger made his comments at a life settlement conference sponsored by Fasano Associates, Washington.
He said he believes life settlements will become an integral part of the life insurance industry even though some carriers engage in "numerous tactics to delay, interfere, and suppress the competition created by life settlement transactions."
He said this interference "includes, but is not limited to," delaying or failing to provide illustrations, policy validations, verifications in coverage, and changes of ownership documents involved in life settlement transactions.
