$7,000,000 policyLincoln NationalWalter & Joan M.
First offer, one buyer
$1,820,000
26.0% of face amount
Sold for
$2,430,000
34.7% of face amount
Difference
+$610,000, up 33.5%
26 offers received over 31 days
View the offer sheet
One buyer names a price. A market sets one.
Windsor takes a single policy to every licensed buyer and lets them bid against each other. Below are three recent cases, with the offer sheets the policyowners received.
No cost to ask. No fee unless a policy sells.
One $7,000,000 Lincoln National policy. Twenty six offers over thirty one days. The dashed line is where a single buyer would have left it.
11.5
average offers per case in 20264.8
Google rating from 73 reviews2012
the year Windsor started brokering policies$0
charged unless a policy sellsHow a policy reaches the market
A provider buying direct makes one offer. Windsor makes providers compete for the same policy.
Step one
The file gets priced
Windsor gathers the policy illustration, carrier verification and medical records, then sends the file to independent life expectancy underwriters. Buyers price from those reports.
Step two
Buyers bid against each other
The policy goes to institutional buyers and private funds at the same time. Each one knows it is not the only bidder, which is the part a direct sale leaves out.
Step three
Every offer is reported
The policyowner receives each offer as it lands, including the ones Windsor does not recommend, and decides which to take.
Three recent cases
Different sizes, different carriers, same pattern. Names have been changed and policy numbers removed. Every other figure is unchanged.
$1,500,000 policyJohn Hancock LifePatricia N.
First offer, one buyer
$425,000
28.3% of face amount
Sold for
$600,000
40.0% of face amount
Difference
+$175,000, up 41.2%
11 offers received over 29 days
View the offer sheet
$250,000 policyProtective LifeDaniel W.
First offer, one buyer
$45,000
18.0% of face amount
Sold for
$73,000
29.2% of face amount
Difference
+$28,000, up 62.2%
9 offers received over 21 days
View the offer sheet
Case study
The rider nobody mentioned
The three cases above are numbers with the names taken out. This one carries a name. Several companies offered to buy Ted Muller's policy. None of them mentioned the accelerated death benefit rider already attached to it. Windsor did, then took the policy to market anyway.
Read Ted Muller's case study
A broker owes a duty
Windsor represents the policyowner and is bound by a fiduciary duty. A provider buying for its own account owes the seller nothing of the kind.
Buyers bid in the open
Institutional buyers and private funds price the same policy at the same time. Each round of bidding is visible in the offer sheets above.
Offers arrive in writing
Every offer is reported as it lands, including the ones Windsor does not recommend. The policyowner decides which to take.
What Windsor charges
Windsor's commission is typically 15% of the sale price. On larger settlements, commission can vary.
Many life settlement companies claim not to charge a commission. Others advertise a flat fee. In Windsor's experience, commissions and flat fees in this market can reach 30% of the settlement payment.
Windsor never charges up-front costs, and nothing is owed if a policy does not sell. A policyowner can stop the process at any time. State law also allows a set period to cancel after a sale closes.
Commission is quoted two ways in this industry. A percentage of the death benefit and a percentage of the sale price are not the same number. Windsor quotes against the sale price.
What would the market pay for a policy?
The settlement calculator returns a range in about a minute. A short call establishes whether a policy is likely to qualify and what buyers are paying for policies like it.
Each case above is a record of an actual Windsor transaction. Policyowner names have been changed and policy numbers removed. Dates are shown as days from the first offer. Face amounts, carriers, offer amounts and offer counts are unchanged. Provided as examples only. Every policy prices differently and no outcome is guaranteed.