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With Windsor’s help, Ted Muller and his wife were able to leave no stone unturned after selling a life insurance policy to fund a bucket list.
Sometimes Windsor clients are so happy with the outcome of their life settlement, they’ll offer and even insist on becoming references and case studies. Other times, people who don’t even elect to pursue a life settlement leave us nice reviews too just for being honest and helpful. We so love it because their stories might help someone else get clarity on what is an important financial decision.
It’s estimated that about $120 billion worth of qualified life insurance policies lapse annually. This is a terrible shame.
Policyholders over age 75 or living with a terminal illness allow their policies to lapse because they’re unaware of the life settlement option. For this reason, Ted felt if his story can help even one person feel confident in their decision, then he was happy to share.
The following is the documented life settlement experience of man named Ted Muller. When Ted first came to Windsor in 2014 his doctors had diagnosed him with a terminal illness and estimated he had about 18 months to live. After learning about viatical settlements, he started shopping his life insurance policy with the major insurance companies and direct buyers.
A Hidden ‘Accelerated Death Benefit’ Rider
Ted had already interviewed with other companies but found that our Cindy Deacon was the only person who made him aware of his “Accelerated Death Benefit” (ADB). This was actually a decent option for him at the time and, if he’d elected to use it, would’ve meant Cindy and Windsor wouldn’t make a commission. Ted had already spoken to other professionals and received consultation on his policy. Yet, he had never heard of an ADB or that his policy had this often-overlooked rider.
Cindy had shown him his ADB rider but still felt confident that the Windsor Marketplace® could get a higher offer. So she recommended that they pursue a life settlement together.
Ted listed his policy in the Windsor Marketplace and his policy sold rather quickly. His final offer landed higher than all the other companies(by a lot) and even beat his ADB rider.
Throughout the process, Ted documented his experience, sending wonderfully detailed emails that he authorized us to share. Overjoyed with his payout, he also published an open letter to anyone who might be considering selling their life insurance policy.
Dear Cindy,
I’m back from my latest surgery and recovering nicely. As I mentioned, we got your check and all went well with the main payment.
We established a fund for any catastrophic out of pocket medical expenses in the future. My overall condition seems to have actually improved.
We did however grant ourselves one bucket list item each. I looked all over the nation and found my dream car in, of all places, Addison, IL (pictures attached}. My wife, on the other hand, joined the “Chippendale Dancer of the Month Club”. So far the cop and fireman have shown up and the schedule says January is the Insurance Salesman. Imagine that.
Thanks again it was an interesting journey from start to finish. I am glad you were part of it. I will call next week to make sure there are no loose ends.
Meanwhile, I hope you and yours have a Happy New Year.
Best Regards,
Ted
Dear Cindy,
Now that all the necessary paperwork has been signed and payments made I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your work.
I shopped a number of your competitors regarding my situation, I was unable to find a combination of competence, product knowledge and most of all someone with a delicate understanding of my new personal reality. After our initial conversation, it was evident to me that you were the only person I contacted that could provide all three.
Once I determined with your input that a life settlement was the right path for me you were able to guide me through the process seamlessly and find a settlement amount that fit my criteria.
You showed true professionalism as I struggled with my health issues and occasional cold feet as the process unfolded. As of today, I couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome not to mention the opportunity to work with you.
Please send my regards to your team at Windsor LS and feel free to use my name any time in the future as a more than satisfied customer.
Thanks to you, I can now concentrate on my own well-being and ponder the four words that sends chills up the spine of our new policy owner,
“Long Live the King!”
Sincerely,
Ted Muller
To Whom This May Concern,
It took a while to experience a bit of life after my settlement to make some real life observations. Let’s look at my situation.
First, I found myself in an unenviable category of insurance policy holders. I had a term life insurance policy expiring in a few months and was told at that time I would need a liver transplant to survive. And survival was no sure thing and a dangerous transplant was my only option.
I had several major issues to tackle with our existing “wealth” in order to get my “affairs in order”. We needed to totally rearrange the risk portion of our finances to result in a plain vanilla portfolio that would assure a lifetime cash flow for my wife.
On the other hand, we had to establish a cash reserve for unforeseen medical expenses that could be catastrophic and wipe out any or all of the future cash flow we established for my wife.
I needed to make a fairly substantial investment in remodeling our house to be in tip top move in condition. This was an ongoing project that I did as a sort of hobby. I had the required skills for the project but now I was no longer physically up to the task.
In spite of our best intentions to prepare for the worst we were standing in front of a mountain of issues that would have been almost insurmountable even in my prime.
Then, I noticed that my term policy had an option to purchase a variable whole life policy with the same face amount and most importantly with NO physical exam to qualify for coverage. At this point, I realized I didn’t have to be a passive victim of my malady. I could try to cobble together an acceptable quality of life for myself and my immediate family.
After some research on the subject and consultation with my wife, we surmised that a life settlement may solve our particular issues. With one grown child it was now up to us how we wanted to go forward.
We realized that if I contracted for the new insurance policy with my existing insurance carrier we could sell that policy for cash to a firm that specialized in life settlements. Of course we would receive a discounted amount of the face value, but at some level that would be perfectly acceptable if it addressed our other issues mentioned above.
It turned out it was much more than that. Again, given the right settlement terms we would avoid just getting by in the short term and having my wife walk out of my funeral with limited funds and a house to fix and bills to pay.
Well, we received an acceptable offer for my policy. I contracted for it and sold it and received the cash all within about six weeks.
Guess what?
As I write this, the contractors are remodeling the house which will add value and insure a quicker sale. Meanwhile, I was able to set up a great income stream for my wife in the future and we have a reserve for medical expenses.
But most important of all I became one of the lucky few guys who got permission to establish a “bucket” list. How does a showroom quality 1995 Jaguar XJS convertible sound? I can’t be far from the hospital in case I get the call that an organ is available. But we live near the shore, New York City, and the mountains. All within range and great for a two seat touring car day trip with a picnic basket in the boot. Still more to come on the list!
But, you can have it now. You can get over the mountain of worries; you can live a whole worry free life. I swear as observed by my wife, that my whole demeanor has changed. My doctors on the transplant team say my monthly test results have improved and overall I appear better than I did a few months ago. The demon is still there but I now have a huge amount of good days over bad days.
Believe it or not, upon learning of my life settlement some close family members accused me of being unethical, and that buying and selling one’s demise was both socially and morally unacceptable. Amazing, the ignorance. How about the government taxing the proceeds from a settlement based on my demise? Ethical?
This industry has a long way to go with more awareness and I think needs a better approach than “It’s my money and I want it now”. That sounds like a $15/hour wage protest.
My advice: Ask your financial advisor if a life settlement might be right for you. If they don’t know what you are talking about, fire them on the spot. Tell them that your life insurance policy can actually be the most valuable asset you own.
Thanks again,
Ted
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