(Photo: Chris J. Ratcliffe/BB)
Thanks to the proliferation of services like Uber, Airbnb, Lending Club and a host of others, sharing services have become a multimillion dollar industry.
At the heart of the sharing economy is the notion that everyone can benefit when people use the goods or services they don't need to benefit those who do.
The growth of the life settlement market, which allows owners of life insurance policies to sell to an investor, is another entry point into the new, cooperative world of shared rides and rented rooms.
(Related: How Finance Will Follow Airbnb and Expedia)
Here are three key reasons why seniors who utilize services like Uber might also be ready to learn about life settlement options:
1. Seniors are increasingly comfortable with the sharing economy.
Sharing services might seem to be geared toward millennials, but statistics indicate that older Americans are realizing the benefit of services like Uber. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers' Consumer Intelligence Series, 17% of Americans 65 and older consider themselves providers in the sharing economy, compared to just 7% of all Americans.
What started with ride sharing and other simple conveniences is allowing those in the over-65 demographic to consider life settlements when the circumstances surrounding their life insurance policies have changed. For policy holders who are struggling to pay their premiums, or those whose beneficiaries don't need the payout anymore, life settlement is often the optimal choice.
