Many policyholders are surprised to learn how long the life settlement process can be. Whether working with a direct buyer or fielding multiple offers alongside a life settlement broker, the process of selling your life insurance policy can last several weeks, even months.
Some of the major life settlement companies claim to offer a speedy process, then turn around and offer you $1,000 for your policy. (This really happens!)
Others claim they offer a ‘proprietary underwriting process’ that allows them to produce real offers faster than the rest. Then 48 hours later turn around and offer you $1,000 for your policy.
It’s important to remember that most direct buyers will claim their goal is to get you the best offer possible. They claim that by ‘cutting out the middleman’ you will see more money for your policy and you will complete the process faster.
But let’s think about this.
Let’s consider the motivation of anyone that is buying anything. A primary goal is to secure that thing for the best price possible. So, why would a direct buyer of life insurance policies be any different? Their goal, fundamentally, is to buy policies for the lowest price possible to appease shareholders and their own bottom line, not you. Insurance companies aren’t in the business of appeasing you. Shocking, I know.
And sure, by “cutting out the middleman” policyholders will see more money from the low offer that the life settlement companies are hoping you will accept.
The fact remains that selling a policy is not a speedy process and getting the best price possible will always take some time.
But there are ways that you, the policyholder, can speed up the process and secure the highest offer possible.
Windsor’s life settlement process consists of five steps:
In some cases, the first two steps take weeks to complete. However, these first two steps can quite literally be completed on the first day. You, as the policyholder, have the power to get these two steps out of the way on the first day.
Once you get your estimate range from the calculator, request and complete your inquiry forms as soon as possible.
The life settlement inquiry form is 5-6 pages. It explores the basics of your policy and medical history. Throughout the Underwriting process, we keep this information securely with us and do not share it with our buyers until they are serious about making offers.
As the policyholder, you can even help speed up the Underwriting process. You can:
Now, if you prefer, we are happy to request these documents on your behalf. One of the documents your Inquiry Form is an authorization allowing us to contact these people on your behalf.
However, both the doctor’s office and the insurance company will certainly move faster when dealing with you directly.
Often times, the insurance company will make us wait a full 90 days to get the in force illustration! If you called, they would provide it right away.
Many policies can be sold quickly for smaller cash payouts at any time. Companies that buy life insurance policies directly from the policyholder want to buy policies for the lowest possible price early in the process.
However, many policies are too valuable to sell this way. When this is the case, consider listing a policy for sale in a marketplace like the Windsor Marketplace®. This way, buyers can bid and compete for your policy which drives the price up for you.
When you list your policy for sale in the Windsor Marketplace®, we financially invest in your case. While others claim interest in getting you the best offer possible, Windsor will actually invest money into your case because we are serious about making buyers compete for your policy. We have a fiduciary responsibility to you. We fundamentally represent your interests.
Throughout our Underwriting process, the fees to gather the required documents can range from $2,500-4,000. These fees are paid by Windsor. With our own funds invested, you can be sure we want the highest offer possible, just like you.
We love to read your policy’s fine print.
Many times, we find riders or benefits that will affect how much you can get from the policy. In many cases, we find options that are even more beneficial than a life settlement, saving you time, money and the hassle of selling your policy at all.
Once your policy is through the Underwriting process, it’s time to begin receiving offers.
During this time, it may make sense for the policyholder to cease shopping multiple companies once a policy is “Out To Market”.
Most buyers do not want to see your policy being shopped by multiple companies or brokers. It creates instability and uncertainty which can spook buyers, and ultimately limit the final offer you receive.
Once the process has started, Windsor will work to find you the highest offer possible. We spend our time fielding phone calls and emails from buyers all over the country inquiring and bidding on your case.
Once the final bid is submitted and all others have dropped out, you will then have the final say in accepting the deal, or not.
Once you accept an offer, funds are moved to an escrow account for you while closing documents are prepared and signed.
Once everything is buttoned up, the funds are released to you in full!
Everyone wins when a policy sells in the Windsor Marketplace®.
If time is a critical factor, a policyholder can still take advantage of the Windsor Marketplace® if they gather the necessary documents on their own.
Windsor can certainly acquire these documents on your behalf but insurance companies and medical providers will certainly expedite the process working with you directly.
On average, when policyholders gather their own policy and medical documents, the time required for the life settlement process is reduced by about 30 days!
If a life settlement is the correct move for you, let’s get you the highest offer possible and get you paid up to 30 days faster!
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